


Unlike the Moon

by fructoseintolerant



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst with a Happy Ending, Dragons, Eventual Romance, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Minor Character Death, Minor Violence, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Sirens, Slow Burn, Strangers to Lovers, Temporary Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:28:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 30,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28291641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fructoseintolerant/pseuds/fructoseintolerant
Summary: Taeyong was supposed to save the princess from an evil dragon.But when the sea flipped and wrecked his ship, and he was stranded in the wrong island with the wrong dragon, Taeyong was forced to fight the cursed fate, the dragon, and this feeling called love.
Relationships: Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung/Lee Taeyong
Comments: 3
Kudos: 41
Collections: NCTV Secret Santa 2020





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [junesuns](https://archiveofourown.org/users/junesuns/gifts).



> Merry Christmas, this is your secret santa speaking! I have a little gift for you! Please do enjoy it!

There are children on the playground, and there was also Donghyuck. Who stayed inside the class, a book in his hand, sitting near the window. He flipped the pages of a book he had gotten from the shelves. 

Mr. Lee couldn't help but think of how lonely he must've felt. Slowly, he kneeled beside the boy.

"Whatcha got there, Donghyuck?"

The little boy turned to him, face blank. "A book."

"A book? I didn't know you already learnt how to read!"

The boy looked down and flipped a few pages, splaying his tiny hand on the drawing. He picked his nail on an embossed page of the sea. It's glittery. "I haven't. I just think that the drawing is pretty."

Mr. Lee cooed. He clenched his fists to stop himself from hugging Donghyuck to death because Donghyuck was so goddamn adorable. 

"Do you want me to read it for you?"

"It's okay, I can tell what happened by the drawing alone," Donghyuck said.

"Well, could you tell me what the book is about, please?" Mr. Lee asked. He sat down near the boy and tucked a stray strand on Donghyuck's forehead. It was almost covering his eyes. His mother should've cut it or it'll get into Donghyuck eyes. It was concerning.

"Okay, since you asked so nicely." Donghyuck beamed and cleared his throat, a habit he picked from Johnny maybe. And then Donghyuck proceeded to tell a completely wrong story.

Mr. Lee clapped his hands nonetheless, encouraging. That's what a kindergarten teacher does, isn't it?

"Really, is that so? Want to hear the different version of it?" Mr. Lee suggested. It earned a nod from Donghyuck.

Mr. Lee smiled and brought Donghyuck into his lap. Sitting on the floor, Mr. Lee took Donghyuck to a world of fairytale, full of love, beautiful and tragic.

" _Once upon a time, there lived a prince in a kingdom far away from here…_ "


	2. Chapter 2

Lifting his books from the mess of his desk, a paper surfaced and his eyes caught it before his hands could. He sighed and put the book back on the desk, choosing to crouched down to pick up the paper. His nails were blunt and he found it hard to pick the thin layer from the marble floor.

He brought the paper to his eyes. Fixing his glasses, he read the dark ink on the yellow-ish paper. It must’ve been months old. Or as old as how long he hadn’t been cleaning his desk.

His eyes traced the letter he knew by heart. 

Of course. 

He used to read it every night. Like a poet reciting his mediocre poem at night before his performance, Taeyong read it every night. Much like a madman.

Well, he was. But no one could ever blame him. Everybody has the right to go mad if they have lost their friend, their loved one. Taeyong was one to use the right to its full potential. Something his father was afraid of.

The letter was the only thing left other than his memories of the man. And Taeyong doubts everything including his mind. It’s scary to think how many memories we have forgotten in our life. Those that we failed to keep or immortalize. What if one day, he forgot about the man as well?

But the thing is, he already did.

He had failed to memorize their days together. The giggles and the water splashing everywhere. The paddle and saddle they took on a journey to seek something worth enough to be called treasure. They never did and Taeyong wished he didn’t plant the idea of exploring the world to him. Then again, regret did nothing when the sea had swallowed him.

It made him sick to the core. To think that there is a potential somewhere in there that he would have faced the same thing as his best friend. But oh to die in the embrace of the sea. Certainly not what Taeyong wished for.

When the letter surfaced, Taeyong wanted to cry. But the ship was waiting. And he couldn’t make the crew wait for him for too long. They have a princess to be saved.

He shoved his things to the luggage and called it done. Lifting the heavy bag from his chair, went outside, not sparing his study another look. Afraid if he did he wouldn’t have the will to leave again. So he left.

He left the letter behind.

He opened the door at the same time Chenle lifted his hand to knock on it, startling the boy until he stumbled backward. “S-Sir!”

Taeyong smiled and patted his head, “Just call me Taeyong, Chenle. It’s alright.”

“I’d rather not get my head beheaded." Chenle held a hand up, rejecting the offer and mainly to offer a hand for the luggage. "The ship is waiting for you, Your Majesty."

Taeyong glanced back to the open window of his room. The harbour was visible from there. He sighed. "I know."

"You should get going. Who knows how long the sea stays calm."

Taeyong blinked once. "Indeed."

The walk through the hallway was strangely calming. Chenle was by his side. The boy insisted on carrying his luggage, or else the king would be mad if he saw the prince doing labour. 

Their rhythmic steps echoed inside the high-ceilings. And when Taeyong looked down, he could almost see his own reflection on the perfectly polished marble floor. Taeyong clenched his fist. His nail digged harshly onto his palm.

This the calm before the storm, he knew.

Taeyong held the map tight. It ruined the perfect smooth paper, but it didn't matter. The ship crew had the copy.

Bowing down, he sang, "May Your blessings lead us well." He stood and saw his father nodding. He stepped forward and gave his father a hug. "Pray for me, father. I don't even know what I am doing."

His father's beard tickled his ear when his father nodded and tightened his hold. "Don't worry. You're capable of this. You are the prince."

Taeyong didn't want to let go. But the princess is waiting for him. Stranded on an island far away from her home. And his father was aching to let go.

Taeyong inhaled and let go of his father. His father had his eyes watered and glassy, reflecting his own self. He could almost see his frightened expression there. 

Taeyong straightened his clothes, the robe, and the bag he slinged over his shoulder. "Goodbye, father. I'll see you soon."

His father put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing there in assurance. Taeyong hoped it did. "Come back alive and bring back the princess. I'll be waiting, and praying for you."

Taeyong chuckled. "I hope so, Father. For now, goodbye," Taeyong said. Bowing for the last time before walking away down the court. There was a buzzing sound in his ears yet he could hear his steps clearly, even on the carpeted marble. Thump thump thump.

"Let's go, Chenle."

It was a sin for the crown prince to board on a wrecked ship. But the kingdom was on crisis (isn't that why his father had agreed on this quest earlier?) and the crown prince could only rely on the old beauty of a ship. Even from afar, Taeyong could see it.

The wooden boards of the dock creaked under his weight and Taeyong tightened his hold on Chenle. Years of being exposed to the wet and harsh nature of the beach had taken a toll on this harbour.

"That's Bella," Chenle said upon their arrival on the harbour.

"Bella?"

Chenle nodded solemnly. "Bella."

It was Chenle who noticed his curious eyes first. He smiled and took Taeyong's hand. "You could take a closer look you know. If you're going to spend months - or maybe years - in this ship, you better get to know Bella first."

" _Years_?"

Chenle halted his steps and turned to Taeyong, dramatically, unapologetically. "Dear God, don't tell me you - I mean Your Majesty - don't even know how long the sail would be."

"I know," Taeyong exclaimed, he shushed Chenle away before any of the crew could hear him. It was his reputation in line. "Of course I knew it. I already have experiences, remember?"

Chenle pursed his lips. "Of course. Everybody does," he said, lowering his voice.

But Taeyong heard him well. He lamented on the line where the sky and the sea meets. White clouds contrasting with the dark blue ocean. Taeyong longed to be there. Even when he knew the sea despises him.

He didn't dwell on the thought for too long. The crews were ready and calling for him.

"Great! Now now, don't miss me too much, kid. It won't be long," Taeyong said, having so much confidence that he forgot that Chenle practically wasn't listening as he carried Taeyong's luggage inside.

Taeyong walked along the line of the dock, staring at the chapped woods on the ship's side. He ran his hand along the line. That was until his hand met a slimy part and he pulled his hands away and never came back.

Bella is - for the lack of a better word - a strange aesthetic. She's big, one of the very first ships this kingdom had. Back when the kingdom was full of prosperity and everyone danced in the streets for all night long. Now the people could only dreamt of it, sometimes licking off the remnant from the dusty streets. Taeyong was sad for them.

She's old. The creaking wood and the chapped paints proved it all. It was such a pity that no one ever maintains the beauty she had.

There isn't any particular rule in decorating a ship, but certainly Bella did break the rule. It was usually a mermaid, or a woman, or something in front of the ship. Taeyong never knew the reason. Perhaps it was because women are strong, strong enough to break the waves and lead the way.

But Bella had a dog in front of her. A wood, sculptured professionally to become a statue of a dog. She had her mouth closed and stood there elegantly.

Taeyong wanted to laugh.

"Found something funny?"

Taeyong swallowed the laughter that was bubbling in his throat. He turned to the man. "No."

"Really? Cause I think _that_ is funny," the man said, pointing to the dog. The man laughed and Taeyong learnt that it was alright to laugh at the dog too.

"Why, why a dog?" Taeyong said, unclear when he covered his mouth trying to stifle his laugh.

The man chuckled and Taeyong swooned at his dimples. They're so deep, like the sea. And Taeyong wanted to place a kiss there.

Not the dimples certainly, the sea. Or maybe it was just him in denial.

"Bella has been a good dog and she deserves to be there," the man said. He stared at the ship, there was a satisfied smile plastered on his face. Taeyong mimicked.

"Are you the captain?" Taeyong said, breaking the silence between them. He could've let the sound of the wave hitting the shore or the sound of the crewmate yelling fill in the silence, but he was curious.

"Yes." The man turned to Taeyong and extended his hand. "I'm Kun, Qian Kun."

Timidly, Taeyong took his hand and shook it gently, feeling the rough skin of his palm, results of years on the steering wheel. "Oh, I'm-"

"Lee Taeyong? Literally everyone knew the crown prince," Kun said, chuckling. And he was going to hell for it, for being so damn attractive.

"Ever been to the sea before?"

"Yes." Taeyong left out the words 'years ago'. He let go of Kun's hand in favor of rubbing the sweats on his pants.

"That's nice to hear. At least you're already accustomed to the sea. No motion sickness!"

Wrong.

Even before the ship sailed, Taeyong knew he had to stand near the edge. His hands gripped tight to the railing. But he successfully disguised it as an attempt to say goodbye to Chenle and the other officials waving their hands at him.

"See you soon!" Taeyong said with all his might. His body jumped slightly when the ship moved. Sometimes getting out of the shore was hard when the sea level was low.

Taeyong waved his hands. And Kun joined him, hands waving enthusiastically. At one point their hands accidentally caressed each other's hand and Taeyong blushed while Kun smiled sweetly at him.

Literally what's with Taeyong and his tendency to fall in love with every person he just met? Taeyong wouldn't know the reason.

While the other hand was still waving, his other hand gripped so tight on the railing. An evidence of him trying to keep his guts inside his stomach rather than puke it all into the deep blue sea.

He took a deep breath and exhaled shakily.

"Are you alright?" Kun asked, hand came up to pat Taeyong back gently. Or gentle, _to him_. Not to Taeyong.

A hit on his back seemed to be a cue for his stomach to act up again. Taeyong had to distanced himself from Kun before he vomited all of the food he had digested before into the sea. There was a chorus of 'ew' coming from the dock and Taeyong could point out Chenle was being the loudest there.

"Are you alright?" Kun asked the obvious again.

Taeyong had a hard time focusing on the waving sea. The world blurred before he wiped the tear shielding his eyes. The deck swayed before his eyes and his head spinned five times per second. If that was possible.

The answer is no. No he wasn't alright. Not at all. Literally.

"Yes, I'm fine. Don't worry," Taeyong murmured, still bending his body in case another wave of nausea hits him. "But I think I need to lay down a little."

"Sure, sure! Ten! Come here!" Kun yelled. He placed a gentle hand on Taeyong's back. Stroking.

" _What?_ "

"The prince."

"The prince is what."

"The prince is sick, Ten. God, I need your cooperation here," Kun said, clicking his tongue. He glared at Ten for a solid ten second before Taeyong deemed that the eye fucking was enough and to remind Kun he that he still needed to lay the fuck down.

"Huh." Ten crossed his arm and looked down on Taeyong. "So what?"

" _So what?_ "

"I mean, what should I do, Cap?" Ten asked, reluctantly.

"Take him to the cabin and feed him some medicine," Kun commanded. He signaled Ten to take Taeyong to the main room since he's from the royal family, even when Taeyong insisted just to use the regular room. They pay me to spoil you, Kun said. And Taeyong got flustered from the statement alone.

Ten rolled his eyes, but as Kun promised, Ten is a great healer. Though too blunt.

"You're going to die," he deadpanned.

"I'm going to _what_?" Taeyong spitted out his medicine. Ten frowned and clicked his tongue. He crouched down to wipe the spilled medicine with a cloth.

"I said you're going to _die_. That's if you keep this up - vomiting I mean." Ten dumped the cloth to a wash rack. "We're in the middle of the sea. Our clean water supply is limited. You'll either die from dehydration from vomiting or normal dehydration, or starved to death, or lack of vitamin C, or shark, or - I don't know."

Taeyong paled.

"Literally anything could happen in the middle of the sea."

Taeyong clutched the blanket he had to cover his head. It wouldn't stop him from imagining his inevitable death, but could stop him from seeing Ten's scary face. "Thank you for telling me that, Ten."

Ten smiled again. " _Anyway_ -"

"Yeah?"

Ten took a random bottle from the cabinet. It was small and green in color. Taeyong thought that it was the bottle, but it was actually the substance itself. Taeyong noticed it when it swayed with the ship. Creating a small wave inside. 

"Do you want some _herbal medicine_?"

Taeyong flicked his eyes to the grin Ten displayed. "What's the use?"

Ten checked the bottle for a label or something. And when he found none, he tapped the bottle. "Oh, you know. It helps ease pains."

"Pains? Does that include motion sickness?"

"I don't know, you gotta ask Hendery. He drinks this often. Right Hendery?" Ten yelled.

The man outside the door held his thumbs up. Half lidded eyes and lopsided smile. "You got it Ten." The ship swayed with the wave again and Hendery fell backward. The wind closed the door before Taeyong could check on him.

"Is he alright?" Taeyong said, already jerking forward on the bed.

Ten put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "He's alright. It's just the side effect. He's high on the stratosphere. Still want some?"

Taeyong eyed the bottle warily. "No, thank you."

Kun's ship is a magical experience. The kind you could only experience once you were high on a wild mushroom or when your father needed you to save the princess that was trapped in an island with a dragon inside. Taeyong didn't believe in the myth of course. But either way, Taeyong had experienced it all.

There was a different kind of freedom here in the middle of the sea. 

Here with Kun along with his crew. The crewmates are amazing. He got along with - almost - everybody.

Kun and Ten is the original crew member. They had been together even before the kingdom gave them this ship. Ten had always been by Kun's side to heal him. He's a professional. Unlike a sailor, Ten had smooth palms. Never once did labor.

Taeyong still got motion sickness from time to time. But it wasn't as bad as it was. And Ten had always been there to take care of him.

He was born royal, Kun said. But dreamt of becoming a sailor, just to travel the ocean. He was the child of the ocean.

And then Winwin and Lucas came along, bringing their little friend Yangyang. They are a package deal. The twin tower and their chaotic friend. Winwin is a timid guy. A man of few words. While Lucas isn't a man of few words, and he always felt the need to show it every second. 

Yangyang - much like any other children - is hyperactive. He would toss the book Taeyong read to him just to ask him to play.

Taeyong never fancy the thought of playing chase on a slippery deck of a moving ship, but as months passed and the books became boring, Taeyong found himself enjoying the way the wind became stronger like this. Yangyang brings a new wind into Taeyong's life. And Taeyong never inhaled this much air into his deteriorating lungs.

Hendery joined the crew when Kun noticed how talented the enemy's crewmate cannon aim is. He had a drinking problem, but that could be arranged, Kun said.

The last to join is Xiaojun. The oracle. Kun saved him from a prison back then.

Xiaojun is kind. He told Taeyong all that he knows about the stars and their meaning. The constellations. The one the book on the royal library fails to document. Xiaojun taught him how to read the stars and how they would always lead us back home.

Taeyong could spend hours staring at the dark sparkling sky, head on Xiaojun's lap when Xiaojun stroked his hair. At a night like those, Xiaojun would play with his hair, straightening the tangled strands and humming a certain soothing melody.

Taeyong likes Xiaojun.

Xiaojun is a great storyteller. And while the crew is busy with the ship, Taeyong would sit beside Xiaojun and ask him to tell stories Xiaojun has. He has visited many places before. And each was special. All places had their own stories.

But the sea. The sea is different.

The sea is always moving. Fullf of dynamics. The sea doesn't have any tradition, there's nothing constant about the sea. But that's what makes the sea interesting and dangerous at the same time.

Xiaojun seeked that feeling.

Taeyong couldn't completely agree, but he likes listening to Xiaojun's voice. So he kept his silence. He cradles it gently near his heart. The sound of the wave hitting the ship is already loud enough.

There was a different kind of freedom here in the middle of the sea.

Taeyong felt it once he stood alone near the statue of Bella. The wind was the strongest there. It smoothly ran through his hair before tilting the sail a little. A good kind of wind in a good kind of evening.

They were heading North West. The sun had yet to go down. But Taeyong couldn't see it. It was behind him. But just seeing the burnt cloud framing the mauve sky was enough for him. There was no smoke that clouded the sky here.

There was no father here to rule his son.

Metres behind him was Kun, with Lucas, reading the map. Taeyong couldn't help but be drawn by the sight. The wind - after all - was to blame. It was heading there.

"Is it still a long way to go?"

Kun never looked up from the spot he was looking. But Taeyong knew he already acknowledged his presence once he made a space for Taeyong to read the map too. "Unfortunately, yes."

"Kun-"

Kun shot a glare at Lucas. "No, Lucas. Not a chance."

Taeyong stared weirdly at Kun and Lucas, oblivious of the conversation. He looked down on the map Kun was holding. His palm covered one spot, intentionally, Taeyong noticed. Even more when Kun caught him staring.

"What's going on?"

"Your Majesty, we have found a-"

"Lucas! It's out of the option." Kun snatched the map all to his hand and grabbed Lucas' arm. Taeyong glanced down to Kun's grip. He wondered what fueled Kun to act like this. He rarely acts like this. Kun was hiding something.

Beside him, Lucas looked back and forth to Taeyong and Lucas, searching for a permission.

"No, let him talk. I will listen."

"Taeyong, please listen-"

Taeyong held up a hand and it stopped Kun from speaking again. "I need to know about whatever happens on this ship. This is my quest. Do not hinder the kingdom from succeeding in this quest. Punishment awaits those who did."

Kun clenched his jaw.

"Talk, Lucas."

Taeyong saw how Lucas' throat throbbed before he spoke. "Your Majesty, we have found a shortcut. It will take us to the island in a week - if God allows and the wind is kind to us."

Lucas looked down to his clothed shoes. He looked guilty for ignoring Kun's command and even more guilty for planting the idea on Taeyong's head.

But Taeyong on the other hand widened his eyes, now twinkling in excitement. He cradled Lucas' face and forced him to look up from his worn out shoes. Taeyong couldn't stand seeing the sour look on Lucas' face. This is good news! They're going to arrive in just a week! The sooner he saves the princess, the sooner he'll be back home! The other kingdom would agree to sign the treaty and his kingdom would free from all of the debt thay have!

_Isn't it great?_

Taeyong grabbed Lucas' shoulder, forcing him to look up to his twinkling eyes. To be happy with it.

"Lucas! This is great! You found the shortcut! We should head there as soon as we can!"

Lucas bit his lips and glanced at Kun. He sighed. "But still... there's a problem Your Majesty."

"What would be the problem? Is it the weather? Or is it the wind? Should I pray for the wind to cooperate with us-"

Taeyong felt a hand on his shoulder, gentle yet commanding his attention. It was Kun. He had his eyebrows furrowed, grim expressions plastered on his face. Taeyong felt his face slowly mimicked his.

"Kun… what's wrong?"

Kun closed his eyes and sighed. Dejected. "Taeyong. I know that you need to finish this quest as fast as possible. But I need you to know that the shortcut you will be taking is very dangerous. It's a very dangerous part of the ocean. I can't possibly threaten the safety of my family."

Taeyong gulped. "Why?"

Kun pinched his eyebrows tighter. "What do you mean _why_?" He placed the map back onto the table and lifted his hand so that Taeyong could see it clearly. "Taeyong, the shortcut that Lucas seeks is this place. The Green Sea! There are sea monsters there! Sirens!"

"And the waves are harsh there," Lucas added.

Taeyong stared at Kuns' bewildered face and then to the map. The paper was already bristled on the edge and Taeyong held onto it so as to not let the wind fold the fragile paper once again. He pursed his lips. "I don't see why. Do you believe in myth, Captain?".

"This is no myth, Taeyong."

"Then what are you afraid of? Such a monster does not exist. Monsters are just a fragment of human imagination to explain the wild nature of the sea. Isn't it childish, Captain?"

Taeyong never quite knew if it was the mauve or anger that painted red on Kun's face. All he knew was that Kun cursed him and told him how impulsive Taeyong was.

But here is the truth : Taeyong is a scholar. All that he does is learning. Reading and writing journals. He was used to science, physics, biology, but not fairytales.

Such a thing does not exist. Fairytales are just fairytales, that was what his father taught him. It is better to face reality rather than dwelling on fantasy. Fantasy only exists in mind, while reality is - _well_ \- real. Isn't That why his father emptied the fairytale section of the library once he celebrated his tenth birthday?

And the reality in this case is that : there is an easier and faster way to reach the island and yet the captain of the ship is rejecting the offer. How is that logical?

“Taeyong, please think about it again.” Kun held his hand. His face was earnest and his worry bled through the words from his mouth. “ _Monsters are real_.”

“I believe it if Xiaojun said so,” he added. 

A different wind howled. The sail floundered under the force and Taeyong saw how the sky darkened when the sun felt sleepy. 

Here is the truth again : Taeyong is a scholar. He learnt things. He read journals, encyclopedias, and numerous scientific books. Solely for learning purposes. Solely for the sake of his future reign all his life. He wouldn't be possibly wrong about his belief.

A future king could never be wrong.

Like an egg that was readying itself to hatch, the palace had shaped him into a great king in the future.

His mother wouldn't like the way Taeyong is now. But she's dead. And his father expected him to rule the kingdom based on logical things and not fairytales.

Boarding on Kun's ship was a mistake. He couldn't possibly work with someone who believes in such non senses.

Taeyong stared at Kun’s unchanging expression for a while. Kun wasn’t joking. But it must’ve been a joke.

Taeyong chuckled. At this point, Kun must’ve thought that Taeyong was mocking him. He quickly covered his mouth before Kun could question his behaviour. But it did come out a bit wrong, didn’t it?

He dragged Kun further away from the wheel to the edge of the ship. There, he continued.

“Kun, be honest with me.”

“I am, Your Majesty,” Kun said, genuine. He held both of his palm and squeezed it.

“Then answer me. Do you really believe in monsters or do you believe in Xiaojun?”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you really believe in monsters, Kun? Or are you just blindly, believing everything Xiaojun said?"

Kun's eyes flitted to Xiaojun's room. The closed door hurted Taeyong's pride, so he placed a palm on Kun's face and made Kun face him again. Slowly, he whispered, "Trust me in this. And trust yourself. I know you're smart enough not to believe in a mere myth."

"But Xiaojun-"

"Please," he had pleaded. Not going to let anyone hinder him from getting there, from doing _his_ quest. 

Kun swallowed hard and fixed his head. Turning away from Taeyong, he shouted, "Lucas, we're going to turn. Yangyang, help me set the sail."

Taeyong was surprised at how easy it was. He was glad he didn't have to use his full authority to threaten them, but still, he smiled, satisfied.

The dream he had last night seemed to form itself the next morning. 

Taeyong inhaled the salty air deeply before stretching his body. The sun has yet to rise to its full height and Taeyong liked that. The warmth seeped through his thin shirt. There was something bubbling inside his stomach - nausea most likely - but Taeyong would like to think that it was his excitement acting up.

They were going to arrive soon. 

It has been days since they strayed from the initial plan. Days since Xiaojun found out and locked himself inside his room. Praying, Kun said. They need all the prayers possible to get through this mad plan of Taeyong. Kun let Xiaojun be. 

Xiaojun had warned them before. And they didn't listen.

But being an oracle didn't mean that he'd always be right. Look at them now. Sailing on a peaceful sea, with the force of the wind getting them closer to their destination. A part of him wanted to believe Xiaojun. But another part of him took pride in knowing that Xiaojun probably locked himself inside his room because he didn't want to see how _right_ Taeyong was.

He frowned. That must be it.

The sail hadn't been the smoothest, Taeyong had to admit. There was rain here and there. Rain in the land might be a normal occurrence. But in the sea, it was different. It was harsher.

Brutal.

They were down on one crew because Winwin caught a cold yesterday because of the rain. Ten had a hard time taking care of him and would glare at anyone - mainly Lucas - who ever had the courage to enter the room. It was infectious. The cold was.

And Ten couldn't risk the other getting sick too. Sick people on a ship are hard to take care of. Medicines were limited in quantity and variety. Water too. And the damp nature of the ship made it easy for the virus to stay.

But overall, taking this shortcut had been a good choice. The fact kept his sleep long at night.

"Good morning, Kun!" he greeted the man.

Kun was there with Lucas again. Occasionally looking around and then looked down at the map again. Taeyong noticed the furrow on his eyebrow wasn't because of the sun - hell, Kun wore a hat. Taeyong remembered that it had been like that for a few days now. It was because of something else. And Taeyong hoped it wasn't because of a bad sign.

"Morning, Taeyong. Did you sleep well?" Kun smiled, dimples and all.

"I did." Taeyong stood beside Kun to take a look at the map too.

"Are you hungry? You should eat first. Yangyang is making something in the kitchen."

"Hmm. Bad choice," Taeyong mused.

Kun chuckled.

"You're too cruel. Yangyang has a buried potential somewhere," Kun said, not tolerating a slander on one of his crew. But Taeyong knew it lacked the bite it should contain. One second they exchanged the same smile, and then Kun let his smile drop into the bristly paper on Lucas' hands.

Taeyong noticed. "Hey. What's wrong?"

Kun looked up to Taeyong again and stared into the distance. "We're close to the _sea_."

"Oh."

Kun sighed. "I just hope we made the right choice Taeyong. I'm worried about my crew. About Xiaojun. About his saying back then," he confessed.

Taeyong saw how Kun's shoulder slumped, unlike a captain. His sour face told him how this thought had burdened him for some time. Taeyong took a pity on him.

"Kun? Do you see what I see there?"

"Hm?"

"What do you see there?" Taeyong asked, gesturing to the sea in front of them. The one that had haunted Kun is his sleep.

Kun pinched his eyebrow tighter. "Sea. Only sea."

Taeyong stared back at the sea. He chuckled. "It is the sea. But a good kind. There are no big waves and the sky is clear." Taeyong licked his pinky finger and brought it up to the sky. He closed his eyes and hummed.

"And the wind… is good. It's great. We're going to be fine. We're going to make it. Xiaojun's prayers had been heard."

Somehow, it eased Kun's mind. There were no creases on his forehead and he visibly relaxed because of Taeyong's word. 

It made Taeyong smile. And soon Kun mimicked him.

"It seemed like I worried about nothing."

"No. I understand your worry. You need to protect your people."

"People is a big word. This crew only consists of seven people including me. Plus one addition that is you," Kun said. He gently squeezed Taeyong's hand and took him to the kitchen, to where Yangyang was.

"C'mon, let's eat. You could help Yanyang get the food ready. I'll call the others. Let's see if Xiaojun could.be bribed with your food," Kun added.

Taeyong hid a smile behind his palm. He murmured. "Alright."

The day went by like a blur. But it was a common occurrence in the sea, Kun reasoned. The same view of the waves tend to alter your imagination.

Taeyong ate and chatted with the crew. Helped clean up the deck and learned how to tie a knot on a rope from Yangyang. Lucas let him hold the steering wheel while he sneaked into Winwin's room just to check on him. Ten was mad, but Winwin seemed to be fine. Although his cold hasn't gone down even after days.

Taeyong was worried. But Ten assured him Winiwn is in the right - _his_ \- hand.

It was a busy day for everyone and Taeyong wasn't born to do labor so at noon, it was deemed for Taeyong to be tired to the bone. He excused himself early and made himself comfortable inside his room.

Taeyong sighed when his back met the soft surface of his bed. He stared at the wall in front of him and suddenly had an urge to do something.

He knocked on the wall beside his bed, hoping for an answer from Xiaojun's next door. But he didn't get any. It was his cue to just give up and sleep. And Taeyong was never one to betray his role.

There, he slept.

Here was a secret.The floorboards on the deck also acted as his room's ceiling, and it did a very bad job.

Taeyong knew it when there was a tap against his forehead. Cold and small, much like the finger of the devil in his dream and Taeyong frowned in his sleep. And then another. Tap again.

But it soon turned into a steady tapping against his forehead and Taeyong found himself crying in his sleep. Oh, no. Scratch that. He wasn't crying. It wasn't his tears.

Taeyong gasped awake when he felt the cold presence again. It had wetted his forehead, down to his face and pillow until it was soaked. Half of it was from his sweat from the nightmare before.

When he was face to face with the too-low ceiling of his room, he could finally see it, the crack between a wooden board. His neck cracked when he strained it to look up.

Taeyong blinked and a drop dropped into his cheek. He wiped it with his palm and found his palm wet with dirty brownish water afterward. Must be the dirt from the floor above.

Taeyong had found it very strange. He immediately pushed his blanket away and got out of the bed. But only then he could finally sense what was wrong. Or at least that was what the swaying floor told him.

The ship was being kicked around by the wave. And if Taeyong heard it right, the footsteps above the ceiling went frantic. Thumping loudly against the old wooden floorboards. Taeyong stopped moving for a while due to his motion sickness and strained his ears.

_'The sail! Bring down the sail!'_

_'Yangyang! Help me remove the water from the deck. God it's flooded the deck!'_

Somewhere above him, Taeyong heard a scream that quickly drowned out by the sound of the rain and the thunder. His blood ran cold. _Drown._

At the same time, the ceiling creaked loudly and the steady flow of dirty water had been pooling on his mattress. There was a big brown spot on the ivory sheet. Taeyong reached out his hand and placed a pillow there, a failed attempt of keeping the mattress dry.

Taeyong tightened his robe, it was chilly. There was a wind blowing in the place where it shouldn't be.

The set of clothes he used when he board was still hanging perfect inside the closet and Taeyong made a move to change despite the nausea bubbling on his stomach.

Where there was a dry wall had been replaced by patches of moldy wood. Had been for a long time but the rainwater only made it worse.

He swallowed a lump on his throat and took a deep breath before opening his door. It creaked and Taeyong shivered.

The wind was the first to greet him when he went up to the deck. And then came the wet splashes of the rain.

Taeyong gasped and a bit of the raindrop went inside his mouth. He saw nothing but rain. The rain was a veil of horror that kept him from looking at what stood three metre in front of him. His eyes struggled to stay open and he put a hand to cover it from the rain. "Kun!"

Instead of any answer from the man, a thunder came down and struck the sea. Taeyong covered his ear. But even with his ears all covered up, the sound of the rain was still ringing.

"Kun!" Taeyong called again, hysteric this time. He held onto the railing of the deck to keep his balance. But the fear of being thrown over the deck to the sea kept him away. 

Blindly, he stepped to the middle of the deck.

"Luca - " Taeyong crashed into something. His hands immediately flailed around trying to identify what it was. It was a man.

"Taeyong? What are you doing _here_?"

Taeyong gaped and wiped his wet mouth from the rain before answering. "Hendery? Is that you? What's going on?"

"A hurricane!"

"A hurricane?" Taeyong yelled back.

"Yes - Your Majesty, I beg you to go back to your room now! Just stay inside and stay dry, it's not safe here!" Hendery said, removing Taeyong's grip on his arm. His other hand was holding a bucket full of water. Dirty water, ready to be sloshed out into the sea.

"But I want to -"

"Hendery! Hurry up, the sail!"

"Kun?" Taeyong turned to the man coming to their way. His captain's hat kept his eyes safe from the rain but not his body. 

"Taeyong, go back! We can handle -"

The ship swayed and it sent them falling to the ground and Taeyong slid into one of the sides. Right, left, Taeyong didn't know which is which anymore.  
Slippery old floorboard scratched his side and tiny wood splinters pierced his arm.

Taeyong screamed in agony, though not quite heard when his ears were muffled by the rain.

"Taeyong!" Kun yelled, standing up from where he had fallen and helped Taeyong to stand up. Taeyong winced when Kun harshly grabbed his arm. "Let's go!"

"I can't walk, Kun. My ankle," Taeyong said, leaning closer to Kun's ear.

"Fuck," Kun cursed.

Kun slinged one of Taeyong's hands on his shoulder and guided him through the rain. Above them, the sail flicker, threatening to break at any given moment by the sheer force of the wind. Though Taeyong couldn't quite see up above him.

Yangyang was there, holding onto the rope to set the sail with his dear life. Teeth visible from the way his face scrunched up. His arms were shaking and Taeyong worried.

"What happened, Kun?" Taeyong asked. He hissed when Kun walked through a pile of wood pieces and his ankle hit one of the pieces. He said through his gritted teeth, "The weather was good and the prediction couldn't be _wrong_."

"It's the sea, Taeyong. No one could ever predict what the sea wanted," Kun yelled, even in this close proximity.

They walked past the steering wheel, Lucas was there. Trying to steer which way to go.

But Taeyong knew no one could ever know which way to go. The sea was violent and wouldn't let them escape its wrath.

Under the railing, in a small gap between the wooden board, Taeyong saw something. He squinted and he could finally see it. _Him_ , Xiaojun. Crouching down, back against the railing with his hands covering both ears.

"Xiaojun! What are you doing?" Kun shouted.

Taeyong could see Xiaojun's teeth chattered and the way his eyes wavered every millisecond or so. His back bent down even further when another thunder was heard.

Taeyong stood frozen.

"Xiaojun, move! It's not safe!" Kun shouted again. His hold on Taeyong tightened, mimicking his inner worry about his crewmate. He watched as Xiaojun's body trembled in fear before he screamed. Frantic, blunt nails scratching against the dirty floor. Taeyong stilled as he watched Xiaojun collecting dirt under his nail and palm.

"Xiaojun!"

Kun let go of Taeyong before crouching near Xiaojun. He tried to take Xiaojun away from the railing because Kun saw it. The waves from the distance.

"Come on!" Kun grabbed Xiaojun's arm.

Xiaojun pulled his hand away and yelled into Kun's face, "Where to? Nowhere in this ship is safe. The sea is hungry Kun, they know that we're here." Xiaojun's eyes quivered, not even trying to focus on the pity on Kun's eyes.

Clutching onto Kun's shirt, Xiaojun said again, "We shouldn't have taken this shortcut, Kun. It was all a lie and we're doomed."

Taeyong shouldn't be standing still, but he couldn't move his feet. And it wasn't because of his injured ankle. No. 

It was because of fear. The fear of what the saying earlier.

Above him the sky was dark. But not entirely. Lightning struck the waves every second or so. Taeyong saw the reflection on Xiaojun's glassy eyes.

Xiaojun screamed and stood up, legs wobbly and unstable. He ran away. To where, Taeyong didn't know. Xiaojun then vanished from Taeyong's line of vision. The veil of the rain swallowed him whole. Not leaving even a piece for the shark below.

There was a sound of something twirling and Taeyong turned to behind him. The sail.

"No, no, no, no!" Yangyang screamed, his hands had failed to set the sail. The rope slipped from his hand and the sail went mad at the wind. Yangyang surged forward to catch the rope but slipped.

The creak that came when Yangyang dropped his body was drowned by the sound of thunder. His bloody palms grabbed onto nothing as the sail twirled around, uncontrollable.

"Yangyang!" Taeyong quickly came to help him. He limped towards Yangyang. But before he could even get closer, a wave hit his side. Salt water got into his ear, nose, eyes, and the cold prickled through his skin, seeping to his body as he struggled to stand still.

He couldn't. The wave was too harsh on him.

The ship swayed once again and Taeyong feared that the second he tried to get up again the wave would throw him out of the ship.

So he stayed on the floor. Where the water had flooded until his chin everytime his neck felt too weak to even hold his head still. He gaped through the water, searching for oxygen. With this much water flooding the deck, Hendery wouldn't even stand a chance.

He blinked once, getting rid of the salt water from his eyes before looking around.

Kun was still there, cowering himself under the railing to shield himself from the wave. Much like Xiaojun before. Kun still had the hat. His father's hat, even in this life or death situation.

Taeyong winced when he turned to his stomach, hands splayed on the moldy floorboard, supporting his weight. Lucas was there, holding onto the steering. It would do nothing. The wind has long betrayed them and the sea is violent to begin with.

Xiaojun's right. They were doomed.

The world seemed to stray from his axis as the wave kept hitting the side of the ship. His motion sickness was never leaving him to begin with. But it became worse each time.

Or was it because of the blood on Yangyang's hand that was reaching for him?

"Taeyong! Hold my hand!"

Taeyong crawled his fingertips to Yangyang. He held onto Yangyang's hand. And Yangyang's hand was steadied by his hold on the pole. This way, he had hoped, they would be safe.

But what about the others? What about Kun, crouching on the very edge of the ships. What about Lucas on the steering wheel, feeling anxious when he was on the lead yet couldn't even lead them?

_What about the missing Xiaojun?_

Taeyong didn't even know where the salt on his tongue came from.

But still, his mind couldn't stray from the fact that underneath all of this chaos, there was Winwin that was still sleeping not so peacefully because of the cold and Ten that probably just sitting by his side, patiently replacing the wet towel on his head every now and then. Both waiting for the death that is the sea.

Taeyong couldn't help the sickness that was threatening to swallow him whole before the sea could.

There was a cracking sound and Taeyong didn't know where it came from. It could be the floor. Or it could be the sign of the water finally breaking in the cabin. Or it could be the fact that the pole literally broke in half. The force of the wind making the sail went uncontrollable.

"Yangyang look out!"

The pole didn't touch the floor. The railing on the edge of the ship prevented it. It only stopped falling inches above their head. 

Taeyong's heart thumped loudly, pumping a ridiculous amount of adrenaline through his vein. He despised it. It was useless. The adrenaline is useless when there is nothing to do except cowering in fear. You just couldn't win in a fight with nature.

There was another lightning dividing the dark clouds above them and Taeyong trembled. It was cold, the wind that blew into him reminding him every second.

In a particular hit from the wave, the ship lost its control. Swaying dangerously from one side to another, threatening to vomit all of the passengers. The water on his chin kept hiking up and up. The worst of his fear came true. The water had flooded the cabin and it was only the matter of time until it drowned them all.

A small corner of his brain had this silly thought about his father, and the people he left earlier in the kingdom. Chenle. The maid, and the servant. The peasant he saw every morning from his bed room’s window. The gardener

There were screams, and Taeyong mimicked it himself. The sea rose from the surface and tried to drown his head. Taeyong gasped for a breath. It wasn’t the sea level that increased rapidly with each passing moment passed. It was their ship drowning.

The ship drowned.

Taeyong knew that Ten and Winwin tasted it first, and then him, and then the rest of the crew.

Taeyong braced himself for the impact.

But it never came. He no longer heard the screaming, or the sound of the crack from the ship, or the sound of the thunder in the sky. The sea muted them all. Filling his ear with its gentle substance and his lungs too. And perhaps, if the sea noticed the tears in his eyes, she didn’t say a thing about it. The sea kept his secret safe and sound.

His father was right. There were no monsters. Only the harsh sea to kill you.

In his head was an echo of a song he once knew. Keyword : once.


	3. Chapter 3

It burnt. Everything burnt. Around him was burning and he was burning. He had yet to open his eyes but he was afraid to. What if it was hell that he woke up to?

What if all of the kind deeds he had done on earth weren’t enough to atone his sins. What if they weren’t enough to be stacked all the way to heaven the priests back at his hometown had promised him? Taeyong furrowed his brows.

But in the end he vomited all of the atrocious thought into a burst of water he let out when he coughed his lungs out. He cursed out loud. It startled the bird around him and also alerted his presence to all of the entities on the island.

His legs wobbled when he tried to stand up. But he made it. Bare foot on the hot and grainy sand. It hurted his feet, he winced. Each step felt like a needle on his feet. It reminded him of when the little mermaid used her feet to dance with the prince for the first time. How she beared the pain just to feel a fleeting moment that was love.

But Taeyong is not a mermaid, nor there was someone he wanted to dance with at that time. He was a prince on an inhabited island in the middle of nowhere. Taeyong looked around the empty beach. He only found little animals like crabs and occasional small fish swimming under his drowned feet everytime the waves hit the shore.

Taeyong felt his soul leave his body, leaving only an empty vessel that was his deteriorating body. He clutched his own head and fell backward into the soft sand underneath.

"Oh my God. What have I done?" he asked no one in particular. Mostly himself.

Taeyong looked around, almost hysterical. Searching for Kun, or Ten, or anyone he shared a ship only hours ago. But he found nothing. No trace of them. The only thing to prove their existences were real was a piece of woods he recognized. A fragment of Bella, the dog. Taeyong stumbled backward in horror.

He was alone.

He grasped the blanket of sand underneath his palm. Wet sand seeping into his nail, dirtying his royal hands. Taeyong stared at the sea until he felt his vision blurring under a thin sheen of tears covering his eyes. hugged his knee together and sobbed into his sandy knee. Some hurted his eyes, but the sting inside his heart hurt more.

Inside him was only one thought : _Lee Taeyong just murdered his friends._

It was his fault. That they had to go through the hurricane and didn't make it. That they had to betray Xiaojun's trust only to doom themselves. That they had listened to Taeyong's stupid plan.

To ignore the sea is to face its wrath.

And Taeyong had been ignorant. He did arrive at the island. Successfully, and _alive_ foremost. But at what cost? The lives of his friend? This is a mere punishment from the God above. To carry this guilt.

Taeyong stayed that way until God knows how long. Crying. Though he knew he shouldn't. More tears mean the sooner you'll die from dehydration, Ten would say. But Ten wasn't there. Nor any of the others.

Taeyong stood up and kicked the sand. He shouldn't be here. But he only got as far as that. Unsure of what to do; where to run to. He screamed at the sea, furious. It went for a while; him being a madman as the waves lapped on his bare feet. The sea didn't react and it made all the guilt Taeyong felt came back to him. The waves were cruel, Taeyong learnt.

His feet gave up and tossed him to the ground just like that. Taeyong didn't bother to stand up again, resting his cheek on the sand while his body shook from sobbing.

He didn't want to do anything. Lying down on the sand until the sun burnt him alive sounds even better. The princess could save herself. For Taeyong had no more intention to. He couldn't even take the princess back without a boat. Should they swim? No, that would be insane.

The sky was clear, and the wind felt nice on his face. But the clouds were blurring on his vision. Taeyong wiped his tears.

"I hate this. _i hate this_ ," he mumbled, curses streaming out of his chapped lips. His father was not there to scold him from saying such profanity, but at the same time, his father won't be there to save him. Taeyong was now alone.

_The frustrarion built up inside his throat and he screamed again, only stopping to cough._

What Taeyong didn't know was that his screaming didn't - in fact - wake the princess up. Instead, it woke another creature. Vicious. Wild. And didn't like the way Taeyong disturbed his rest. 

Taeyong soon realized. Soon his ear could pick up the thumping sound that came from the ground, followed by the rustle of the leaves far away. The roar came next, and it startled Taeyong.

He stood up so quickly he swore he saw stars behind his closed eyelids. His low blood pressure was acting up again. Taeyong turned to the forest behind him. The trees were still the same as they were when Taeyong checked them before. But there were dreads filling each gap the leaves didn't manage to fill. How the darkness of the forest seemed to talk.

And Taeyong didn't like the way they talked. Or even the way Taeyong could see the rustling of the leaves became more prominent. 

_It was near_.

Taeyong picked his blunt nail, breaking the cuticles and accidentally hurt himself. His thin wrists shook when another roar was heard.

He quickly picked up a stray coral the sea gave him and squeezed it inside his palm. The sharp edge cut through his skin, but he didn't care. He raised it with one hand.

"Princess Yeri? Is that you?" Taeyong asked, trying to peek through the thick bushes. 

There were no answers and yet it scared him the most. Another thing that Taeyong ignored from Xiaojun's warnings is that : monsters are real. And they could be found on the island. Back then, he had insisted that they weren't and turned a blind eye on him. But look at him now. Look at where that attitude took him.

A part of him hoped it was just _at least_ a small monster. So that he could stand a chance with it using the coral in his hand. But the sound of crushed branches and trees proved him otherwise.

"Princess Yeri?" he asked again, sweat beading on his forehead. He knew he'd die soon, from dehydration or anything behind the trees.

Taeyong saw one of the tree branches broke and he backed away. His heart was thumping fast. The sound seemed unnatural when it thrummed on his ear. 

He jumped again when he saw a hand divided the branches to reveal a man. The man came out of nowhere and walked out to the beach. Looking nowhere close to a monster. Taeyong let out a breath he had unconsciously held.

The man looked around for a moment, searching for the source of the sound and his eyes stopped at Taeyong's fragile figure. He approached Taeyong. "What are you doing here?"

Taeyong shook terribly before he collapsed on the ground once again. "I thought you were a monster!" he cried. He huffed a breath and clutched the coral into his chest, calming his erratic heartbeat. Hyperventilating after facing the fear of uncertainty this island brought. "But I guess you're just another stranded person on this island," he said, rather disappointed.

Doyoung furrowed his eyebrows and picked on a stray thread from his clothes. Confused. "I am… a dragon though."

Taeyong whipped his head up. "What?"

The man cleared his throat. Trying to sound more serious. "I _am_ a dragon but _not_ a monster. And you are in my territory."

Taeyong blinked his eyes once. "Territory?"

"You have to go. I don't want any humans to step in my territory."

Taeyong looked down on his feet. "But I just did." He looked up again.

The man sighed. He looked furious. The man closed his eyes, but when he opened his eyes again, they weren't the same as before. The dark brown of his eyes had turned into yellowish green. Pretty, if it wasn't for the snarl he displayed. p

Something clicked inside Taeyong's head and he stood up with his wobbly legs. The man in front of him was serious. Taeyong had read somewhere that some creatures have the ability to shapeshift into humans to blend well into humans' world. 

Hesitant, he pointed the sharp coral to the dragon. "Alright, evil mons- _dragon_. Show me where you locked the princess."

The dragon lowered the pointy tip of the coral using his finger and scoffed when Taeyong insisted on keeping pointing them to his neck. “I think you are referring to the island over there,” the dragon said, pointing to the island behind him. It looked near, but Taeyong knew better that sometimes looks can be deceiving. 

"What?" He dug his shoes further into the sand. It seemed that the 100 kilo boulder he carried from his hometown got increased only from the dragon’s word.

“And also my friend there,” the dragon added. As if on cue, somewhere in distance Taeyong could see the blazing fire from the island. Another dragon, he concluded.

Taeyong slumped even further. He dropped the coral in favor of clutching on his messy hair, adding up to his bald spots at the age of 25.

“It can’t be! It couldn’t be wrong! The island they described matches with - you must be _lying_ , Sir,” Taeyong insisted, finger accusingly pointed at the man.

The dragon rolled his eyes and Taeyong could see the gills on the left side of his face. “Yeah, why would I do that.”

He turned away from Taeyong and strolled back to the forest. He didn't bother to wave or say goodbye. Only a warning : "Do not disturb my sleep. Your cry could be heard within miles and the others wouldn't like it. Or maybe they do like it."

"Go ahead, keep crying," it dared Taeyong.

"Wait!" Taeyong yelled, his steps were flimsy when he tried to chase after the dragon, clearly malnourished. But when he realized the warning, he stopped on his track. 

He stayed, toes digging rather uncomfortably to the sand below. Lower lip between his teeth and cuticles about to be broken again. Taeyong stared at the dragon's back. Slowly getting smaller and smaller until the forest swallowed him whole.

He returned to the sea and squinted his eyes. Nothing. Still nothing. There were no signs of other ships around to help him. Only the occasional waves tossing around. The sun was still high in the sky. Cumulus cloud patched on the sky.

It was going to be a long day, Taeyong knew. But it didn't matter. This day would pass like any other day. Tomorrow would still be like this. Stranded. Alone - well, not exactly alone. Starved.

His pessimistic - or rather, realistic - self showed up rather early that day. He slumped on the ground. He'll die within days.

Taeyong glanced to the other island - to where the princess is trapped by another dragon. Another sighed. The princess could wait. Not to wait for him. But wait for another prince to show up because Taeyong had no intention to.

Taeyong couldn't come up with the reason why. He was simply tired. And he didn't know how long it would take for him to regain his strength. Maybe that day would never come. Even now, Taeyong could feel his energy drained only by thinking simple things.

Taeyong never realized how the sky changed. And how the sun left him to let the moonshine. Or how another sun - the new one - showed up that fast. He couldn't. Too deep inside his own _very destructive_ thoughts. 

He likes to dwell on meaningless things after all. It was just the way he is.

Doyoung purposefully stomped on a twig and it crushed under his weight. 

"A human! I can't believe it!" he exclaimed to no one. He groaned. "They were going to exploit this island like they did to their land, weren't they? Or would they try to kill me like they did to the other?"

He looked up from where he was burying his face in his hand to the bird he was talking too. The bird - of course - didn't answer. Only chirping a little louder. Doyoung took that as a yes.

"I knew it," he widened his eyes in realization, glaring to no one.

He turned to the beach. He could still see a glimpse of the man on the beach, sitting quietly on the sand. Staring at nothing. Doyoung didn't know what was so appealing from the exact same view. If anything, the way the sun reflected on the sea hurts his eyes. Doyoung never stayed on the beach for too long. His nest was better.

He sighed. "He's alone."

The bird on the tree branch tilted his head at the words and moved away, flying to nowhere.

"And now I'm alone."

Doyoung gasped and slapped his own cheek. "You have been alone for a long time, Doyoung. No need to be emotional like that."

He peeked through the tree again. Taeyong was still there, unmoving.

Doyoung hummed, putting his hands on his hip. "He'll die within days anyway. Humans are _very_ fragile. At least in a few days I'll be able to sleep peacefully," he mused. He searched for a reaction. But the bird was long gone and he had no one to talk to.

Doyoung smiled. Yes, peace will be back soon.

But not that night. If anything, the cry grew louder in volume and it pierced through the night like an arrow. It stabbed Doyoung's ear even when he was miles away from the beach. Curse his overly sensitive dragon's ear.

Doyoung crushed a leaf and put them on his ear to block the sound. It didn't work and he burnt the leaves when fire came out of his breath.

"So," he said through gritted teeth, " _Noisy_."

Doyoung groaned and tossed around the nest he built on tree branches. He slipped and fell to the ground with a thud. A loud curse followed suit.

The very next day, Doyoung angrily stomped out of his nest to the beach. It was early morning and his mood was already messed up. Even worse than his bed hair. It had shaped his hair similar to his nest now. Doyoung didn't try to fix it. He was busy muttering curses about how noisy the human was and how it made him restless for the whole night. "I swear I'd eat him alive."

But the need to eat him, the anger bubbling inside him, and the curse flowing out of his mouth stopped when he saw what was lying on the sand.

He gasped when he saw the human lie there unmoving. Even his chest seemed to be still.

Doyoung quickly ran up to the human's side. He kneeled and observed the unconscious man. Taeyong hadn't moved an inch since Doyoung last saw him. He still had the exact same sad expression. But now his eyes were closed and his lips looked even more chapped. His skin was burnt in several places, the sun was to blame and when another tear rolled down his cheek, Doyoung shook him awake.

"Human. Are you alright? Are you dead?"

Under him, Taeyong furrowed his brow and murmured something inaudible.

"What?"

Taeyong blindly scrambled his hand to reach Doyoung's head and brought his ears closer to his mouth. "Leave me alone. You could eat me later when I die. But now I want to die… like this." As soon as he ended his words, the frail hand fell back into the sand.

Doyoung found a hesitation in his voice and took pity on him. "No. Nobody wants to die. Get up now. Get up!"

He forcefully brought Taeyong to sit up by his hand and Taeyong groaned. His back hurt and his neck was sore. Courtesy of the wind last night. His stomach roared when he moved around.

"Leave me alone," he whined. He shutted his eyes close, not wanting to see the dragon. "I don't want to do anything."

"No. You have to get up." 

Perhaps it was because of how hard he closed his eyes. But it could also because this whole situation felt familiar. And it stirred a feeling inside his heart that he disliked. Or like. Taeyong didn't know exactly what it was. But he remembers the similar situation being when his mother woke him up to eat breakfast.

He hated his mother that time. But oh how he regrets those foul thoughts.

("No, Mother. Let me sleep for a while," Taeyong had said, lifting the blanket to cover his messy hair. But the blanket was too thin to cover the sunlight and it seeped through the thin material.

If only his mother didn't open the curtain this early. She should've opened the curtain at noon. The sun was his favorite at noon. But did she ever listen? Of course not.

"No, can't let you sleep again. Come on, you have to eat. I know your father kept you 'til late at night to study, but you already missed the dinner. You'd be sick if you didn't eat right now."

"I have a fat supply, Mother. I'll survive," Taeyong mumbled against his blanket.

His mother didn't care and brought him up. "C'mon, let's get you something to eat.")

"Get up. Let's get you something to eat," Doyoung ordered him.

Taeyong stilled on his spot. Slowly, he turned to face Doyoung. He stared at Doyoung's shiny doe eyes. Doyoung was confused and his pupils turned from Taeyong's left eye to the right, back and forth.

"Why are you being nice to me?" Taeyong wailed. He clutched near Doyoung's chest, ignoring how Doyoung tried to get him off.

"I'm not," Doyoung said, moving away. "I learnt that humans stop crying when they're dead, or when they have everything they need. Food. And your crying kept me awake all night long."

Taeyong sniffed.

"You must be hungry," Doyoung added.

Taeyong blinked once again and a tear rolled down his cheek. "I didn't deserve it."

"Why? Actually no - tell me about it later. Now we have to find something for you to eat," Doyoung said, shaking his head. He stood up from where he was kneeling and held up a hand for Taeyong to grab.

"Do you have a name, human?"

Taeyong took his hand and Doyoung pulled him with so much force that he stumbled forward, almost knocking his head against Doyoung's chest. He quickly backed away, scared.

"I'm Lee Taeyong, crown prince of Neo Kingdom."

"Kim Doyoung." Doyoung looked around and spotted a coral. "Uh… a dragon."

Taeyong wiped his tears. He smiled - though a bit forced. But it was genuine as he said, "It's nice to meet you, Doyoung."

Doyoung in fact didn't know that humans didn't actually eat rocks.

He found out when Taeyong politely rejected a shiny rock he found near the beach.

"No… rocks?" he said rather dejectedly.

Taeyong shook his head gently and smiled timidly. Similar to a mother when his child did something really stupid but is part of them growing up. Child was bound to be stupid. But the dragon, well, it was a new knowledge for him.

"No," he said. Grabbing the rock and moved it somewhere else. He walked back to the beach.

It felt surreal to Taeyong. Just a few days ago he insisted on how wrong Xiaojun was for claiming that monsters are real. But now, the said monster was offering rocks to him. How funny.

"No rocks. Our stomach won't be able to digest it."

Doyoung tilted his head. "What is digest?"

"Um... it's when you eat something and your stomach processes the food into something your body is able to absorb."

Doyoung made a sound of understandment and nodded his head. He tossed the rock around in his hand. "Ah… I don't understand a thing from your saying. But alright. I get it. Humans don't eat rocks. What about leaves?"

"Some are alright, I guess," Taeyong said, shrugging. He never really paid attention to what his mother used in her cooking. It has been a really long time and now he didn't even bother to check what his cook cooked. He no longer visited the kitchen. He now belongs to the library and sometimes the royal court.

And certainly not a strange island with a dragon.

Taeyong gulped. But there was no saliva inside his mouth. Dry. 

Doyoung judged him, pulling a face again. "You're so picky."

Taeyong chuckled. "Well, I think it's fine to say that I could eat things you eat. If you could eat it, it's edible for me too. So what do you usually eat?"

"Fish. Small animals. _Humans_ ," Doyoung said, grinning.

"Hu - humans?" Taeyong paled.

"Kidding," Doyoung said, face went blank. "We rarely got any humans here," he murmured.

Taeyong stopped from where he was crouching to pick a fruit. "What?"

"Nothing."

It was best to say that the best option was to hunt fish from the sea, Doyoung told him.

The forest was still too dangerous. And humans are forbidden for Taeyong. Cannibalism, he would say. Though Doyoung couldn't see anything wrong with it. Not that they would actually eat humans though. They don't have it there.

Doyoung didn't ask for anything else and led him to a fishing spot he usually goes to. Taeyong had been the weakest because of the lack of food he ate in the past few days and Doyoung frowned when Taeyong stopped walking to rest on one of the boulders near the sea.

"What's wrong?"

Taeyong cried, "I can't get my legs to move, Doyoung. I can't do this." His hand shook when he tried to tug Doyoung's sleeve.

"You haven't eaten anything from yesterday, it's bound to be like that."

Taeyong stared at Doyoung, seeking help. His eyes begged and let out a tear.

Doyoung turned his gaze away. "No, I'm not going to help you. You should ask the other."

The morning wind brought another wave of salt to his nose and Taeyong inhaled deeply, trying to calm himself. He stared at how constant the sea looked like today. How different it was from days before. How much the sea disliked him and drowned the ship they were in. Bella.

There was no 'other'. Taeyong was alone.

There were no Kun, Ten, Winwin, Lucas, Hendery, Yangyang. There's no more Xiaojun.

Taeyong was powerless. Hell, he couldn't even lift a finger without shaking terribly. But still, he bit.

"And who's the other? I don't have the _other_ Doyoung. I'm alone now," he wailed. He hugged his knee tighter and he turned into a ball of shaking mess. His shirt had gone wet from his tears alone. " _They're dead_."

Taeyong looked down on his feet. Guilty.

"I didn't mean it. _I swear_. It was an accident. I don't know. Really, I don't-"

"Hey," Doyoung cut him. He looked down on Taeyong. He knew what Taeyong meant. Somehow he understood. "Don't do it."

Taeyong sobbed. "Do _what_? I'm not doing anything right now. I could barely walk and my hands shook badly."

"Blame yourself." Doyoung drew something on the wet sand below with his toe. "Don't do it. It won't change anything." He waited until the clouds above him moved a little. But it never moved. The wind simply didn't exist.

"What happened?" Doyoung asked, careful.

Taeyong took a deep breath.

He wiped his tears and snot using his sleeve. He remembered how he drowned in a perfect set of clothes. A white shirt and brown pants. But now it was ruined. The white was now ivory. Dirty and sandy. His pants were bristled at the edge and the sewing was no longer that strong.

He no longer had the image of a prince he wished to be.

Slowly, Taeyong unattached his tongue from the roof of his mouth and swallowed hard. It was painful to speak. But he managed to tell Doyoung about the accident. But even after Taeyong finished, it didn't ease the pain even one bit. Only leaving a bitter taste at the back of his tongue, an evidence of the untold story he kept from Doyoung.

And just like that, Doyoung is now a person who knows all of Taeyong's crimes.

But unlike the kingdom's guard, Doyoung didn't arrest him, nor - like the judges in the court - he told Taeyong how wrong his doing was.

He stayed silent. Until he wasn't.

"It wasn't your fault. Nor the sea. The sea is not that evil, you know."

"How come?"

"She loves all creatures. But it happened that she loved some of them… too much. The sea - The Green Sea - here is… _special_. She took in those that she loved to be with her here forever.”

“What do you mean?” Taeyong asked again. Minds fumbling to understand the vague explanation Doyoung gave him. The lack of glucose inside his brain wasn't helping either.

Doyoung traced the way the wave lapped on their feet. It was cold. But Doyoung knew his body had grown accustomed to it. It wouldn’t harm him in any way. But for Taeyong, he didn’t know. He put his warm hand on Taeyong’s shaking shoulder. “You’ll know later on.”

Taeyong could only stay silent.

“Is that what happened to you too?” Taeyong asked, voice cracking in a simple sentence. "Are you cursed too?"

“I don’t know. I've been here for too long already." He stared into the distance. Lamenting at his life and probably the way that he could've fly across the sea to somewhere else but didn't. He was too accustomed, he reasoned.

"But I do know that the sea hates me."

"You're so pessimistic," Taeyong said. He chuckled and it came out as a wet laugh from the snots in his nose. He turned his face away and wiped the remaining, just to look decent. He's a prince for god sake.

"I could say the same about you."

Taeyong laughed wholeheartedly. Until he heard his stomach grumble. "I'm hungry."

"Let's go fishing then."

When Doyoung said that they were going to fish, he meant Taeyong and his _own_ hands. There was no Doyoung in the equation. Taeyong learnt the hard truth when Doyoung caught a fish only to eat it raw in one bite.

Taeyong had thought that Doyoung had repent from his sin and would help this peasant to catch a fish. 

But no.

His hands literally turned into giant claws and he caught a fish _that easily_ only to literally unhinged his jaw and swallowed the fish like it was nothing.

That was a literal nightmare material. Taeyong couldn't shake the image of Doyoung out of his head.

"Now, you try," Doyoung said, wiping the salt water off his face. Some splashed into Taeyong's direction but Taeyong stayed still. Stunned.

"What?" Doyoung asked again. Uncomfortable with the way Taeyong stared at him. "I already showed you how. Now you can go catch your own fish."

Taeyong stomped on his way to the water. "Well, some of us don't really have claws like you, Doyoung." Taeyong put his hands on his hip and pouted. "I thought you were going to help me."

"Ha." 

Doyoung scoffed and turned away to walk back to the forest. Back to his nest. He strolled away leisurely as Taeyong cursed when another fish slipped out of his grasp behind him. He glanced at him and clicked his tongue. That wasn't the right way to catch a fish!

But Doyoung wasn't going to tell him. He needed to survive on his own after all.

Doyoung pushed away the branches that stood on his way. His stomach was full, and sleep shall follow soon.

But another glance at Taeyong had him stressed to the skull. It thrummed weirdly, he thought. The thought of Taeyong.

Doyoung groaned when Taeyong fell backward to the shallow part of the sea. He had tried to get up a few times but the waves prevented him from doing so and Doyoung could see the way the sand scratched Taeyong's bare back.

He quickly ran to his side and helped him get up. He yanked Taeyong upward. "You _fool_. You shouldn't put your back against the sea. It's dangerous!"

Taeyong stared at him with his big eyes. "But the fish is going that way."

Doyoung slapped his own forehead. It left a red print and Taeyong snorted. "Can't you use other things other than your hand? Can't you use a stick?" Doyoung asked, pointing to the stray stick the wave presented to them.

Taeyong looked down at it and shook his head. "Won't do. It's not sharp enough to be a spear."

"Go grab it then," Doyoung ordered. It earned him a skeptical look from Taeyong but with a glare of his, Taeyong was quick to obey. The stick was a little far from where they were standing and while Taeyong walked to reach it, Doyoung had turned one of his hands into a giant claw again.

He stared at his long nails and observed it. He pointed out the sharpest of them - the pinky finger - and broke it. He suppressed a groan from the pain and it burnt the roof of his mouth from the fire from his lungs. It will grow back, he was sure of it.

His nail was dark in color, obsidian blue. Sharp, shiny, glinting when the sun beamed at it. Doyoung will miss it.

He hid it inside his pocket and waited until Taeyong came back with the stick.

"Doie! I got it!" Taeyong yelled from a distance, waving the stick proudly. It looked bigger when he compared it to Taeyong's arm. The perfect length, Doyoung thought.

"I have the stick. Not what?" Taeyong asked, breathless.

Doyoung stared at the stick on his hand and turned to the trees barricading the beach. He got an idea. He moved closer to the tree. Taeyong followed, though with confusion visible on his face.

"Doie?"

"Be quiet for a moment, will you?"

Taeyong zipped his mouth and watched closely as Doyoung turned his hand to a giant claw once again and cut the rope-like roots from the trees. When he got the perfect length of it, he smiled. Satisfied with his idea.

Taeyong glanced at Doyoung's claw. He frowned at it. Tilting his head to the side, Taeyong murmured, "Your claw is missing something…"

"Give me the stick."

Taeyong did and watched as Doyoung tied the roots into the stick. But when Doyoung pulled out the obsidian knife from his pocket, Taeyong gasped.

"Doyoung, your nail-"

"Be quiet, I'm working here. If you don't want to help me then perish."

Taeyong let his mouth gaped and quickly lent a hand to hold the stick for Doyoung while he attached the nail into the end of the stick with the roots. Taeyong eyed Doyoung worrily. But Doyoung already had this stern expression while he worked and he ignored the stare he got from Taeyong.

"Don't look at me like that. Now here is your _spear_ ," Doyoung said, handing Taeyong the traditional spear he just handmade.

Taeyong received the stick with teary eyed. He surged forward to hug Doyoung. He looped his arm around Doyoung's neck and hugged _hard_. "Thank you very much," he whispered to Doyoung's neck. He almost cried on his shoulder, and it was audible in the way he talked.

"You helped so much. I feel so thankful for you."

Doyoung was hesitant to return it and ended up pushing him away. Not used to any form of affection.

"You don't need to thank me. Just… survive. Live. You're a prince. You'll rule the kingdom one day and they need you to be alive for that day to come," Doyoung said.

"The kingdom - they'll come pick you up soon. And until that day, you have to survive," he added.

Taeyong knew what Doyoung meant. But where is the guarantee? And how long will it take for the kingdom to notice that he was in fact stranded in an island only with a dragon and a spear made out of the said dragon's nail?

A week? A month? Months?

Taeyong let his worry be said out loud. "But how long do I have to be here?"

"I don't know. But you better forget your quest. It's not going to work. My friend over there won't let anyone steal his possession."

"But-"

"There are no buts. Stay safe and alive, Taeyong. Goodbye," Doyoung said. He put his hands on his pocket and walked away - again. But in a cool way this time. This would be their last goodbye after all, they need to leave a cool last impression to be remembered.

As he walked back to his nest, he could sense Taeyong's stare at him. It was obvious. And Doyoung waved a hand to him without looking back. "Farewell, Lee Taeyong."

It rained that night.

It had Doyoung worried sick about Taeyong. But still, he made no move to check on him or whatsoever. Taeyong was more than capable of surviving. He just knows it. Don't ask the source though.

Doyoung sighed and put another large leaf to cover himself from the rain.

He snuggled against the bed of dried leaves and twigs. It was far more comfortable to sleep in his dragon form, but for some reason, he wanted to be human tonight. Just for tonight, he told himself.

The farewell at the beach however, turns out to not be the exact farewell Doyoung had imagined.

The next morning, or dawn because Doyoung couldn't fucking see the sun yet, he was woken up to a horrendous sound of Lee Taeyong.

"Oi Doie! Doyoung-ah!" he yelled from the ground.

How he managed to find the tree Doyoung nested was still a mystery but that thing didn't cross his mind that morning. Only pure hatred and the need to punch Taeyong.

Throwing out the dried leaves to the ground below he yelled, " _What_ is it?"

Below him, Taeyong screamed in agony when the leaves stabbed his eyes. Doyoung immediately jumped from his nest and landed perfectly on his shoulder with a huff.

"Ugh," he rolled on the ground, caressing his shoulder. His human form is so _fragile_. He groaned. "What is it?"

Taeyong rubbed his eyes. "I think the leaves got into my eyes."

Doyoung stood up and brushed away the dust from the ground. "That's impossible."

"The dust is small enough, Doyoung!" Taeyong said, still rubbing his eye. Dramatic, Doyoung thought.

But the first thing Doyoung noticed was not his eyes. But rather, the clear lack of clothing Taeyong wore. He quickly turned his gaze away, trying to seem polite. But deep inside he was flustered by the sight and of course he couldn't let Taeyong know about it.

But it seemed that Taeyong was temporarily blind at the moment. So he peeked through his hand. "Why are you only wearing your underwear? Have you gone mad on your third day on this island?"

"Nu-uh," Taeyong mumbled. His eye felt itchy and it was burning. He kept rubbing the spot until he saw the purplish spot behind his closed eyelids. It was getting alarming at this point.

Doyoung pulled his hand away. "Don't rub your eyes. It'll make it worse. Come on," Doyoung said, taking him to somewhere else. Taeyong didn't know where. He had to close his eyes if he didn't want the dust to get into his eyes even deeper than it already was. Blindly, he trusts Doyoung not to harm him.

It was when his bare feet touched the damp moss on a stone that Taeyong realized that he was near a pond.

"Follow me," Doyoung said, guiding Taeyong to kneel near the water.

The water felt nice, Taeyong noted. Cold. Refreshing. And when Doyoung told him to wash his eyes there, Taeyong felt relieved. It certainly helped ease the pain.

Doyoung helped him scoop the water to wash his eyes. Taeyong smiled despite the hard angle Doyoung gave him. It worked in the end.

Doyoung wiped the water off Taeyong's face with a clean cloth he had. He finally noticed how close they were. The proximity made him hold his breath close to his heart.

Taeying opened his eyes and stared at Doyoung's eyes. They were a combination of yellow and green. A perfect one. And the pupils quiver when Taeyong whispered, "Thank you, Doyoung."

Doyoung paused for a moment. Considering something. At the end he decided that he didn't like the silence and ended it simply. "No problem. It was my fault anyway," he croaked out.

He glanced sideways and stood up. He put the cloth back to his pocket and offered a hand for Taeyong to hold. "Get up."

And Taeyong did. Given the distance, Taeyong had finally gained the awareness of how _naked_ he was. Well, not exactly naked. He still had his underwear. But Doyoung made him hyper aware of himself.

Taeyong coughed.

"So," he started, "I was wondering if you would like to have breakfast with me?"

Doyoung looked up from where he was busying himself folding the cloth he had taken out again. Just to look busy and less awkward. "Mhm?"

"Breakfast. With me," Taeyong repeated, voice small. Unsure.

"Oh? Oh- sure. Breakfast- Is there any reason for your vulgar behaviour this early morning?"

" _Vulgar_ behaviour?"

"Yes."

"Ah. My clothes got wet so - if you're wondering - I hung them on the tree near the beach. So in the meantime…" Taeyong chuckled nervously. He rubbed the back of his head and pushed Doyoung to go to the beach. "Let's just eat, alright?"

Doyoung didn't comment. And flustered Taeyong had a great time walking behind Doyoung just so Doyoung wouldn't see him half naked like that.

The beach wasn't that far from Doyoung's nest and within the next ten minute, Doyoung already found himself back at the beach where he met Taeyong. But this time, the crying man was already gone. Replaced by the figure beside him, running to the fire he had built earlier.

The fire was too small and weak. The wind had no problem killing it in one blow.

"No, no, no!" Taeyong exclaimed, huffing up a breath and adding more dried leaves into the fire to keep it alive. But it was a waste of energy. It was already gone. And the fish was still not cooked yet.

Taeyong slumped on the side. " _Oh no_."

"Can't we just eat it raw?" Doyoung suggested, staring at the fish's eye. Fresh. Must be delicious.

Taeyong whined and turned away. "I _can't_ eat raw food. I should've cooked it before I call for you. But no, I'm such a failure. I'm disappointed in myself," Taeyong mumbled to his palms. That was the third mental breakdown he had this morning. The first two being when he failed to catch the fish.

But is he going to let Doyoung know? 

With a pride of his, Taeyong isn't.

Doyoung sighed, looking at Taeyong's dejected figure and then to the burnt leaves. He yawned. Then cleared his throat. Something burnt against his throat. 

"Taeyong."

Taeyong didn't answer.

Doyoung kneeled beside the fire and blew his stinky morning breath into it. Many would be disgusted by it, but his morning breath is actually acting as a fuel. Biogas. Sounds ridiculous but his breath was _that_ rotten.

He rubbed his nose a few times, even breathing deeply until his lungs constricted and he _sneezed_.

" _Achoo!_ "

And voila. Fire.

He rubbed his nose again and tapped Taeyong's shoulder with the same hand. Taeyong didn't need to know how disgusting it was though. 

"Taeyong, look. The fire came back."

"Huh?" Taeyong turned around to see the fire. His eyes twinkled when he stared at the crackling fire. It was a big fire, burning all of the leaves inside into ashes. He had his mouth ajar and Doyoung took pride in knowing how amazing his ability must've been.

He coughed a little but it vomited another spark of fire.

"What did you do?"

"What dragon is able to. Anyway, where is my breakfast?"

"Wait a minute. I'll put these," Taeyong said, hanging the fish on the sticks he arranged into a hanger, "On this, and it'll cook. We just need to rotate the fish, regularly."

"Alright."

In between the sound of the fire crackling and the occasional winds heading their way, Taeyong stared at Doyoung a bit too long and whispered again, "Thank you." He leaned towards Doyoung and placed a kiss on his cheeks.

Doyoung was stunned, but when he did realize what just happened, he scrambled away. Shrieking and rubbing his cheeks of the disgusting wetness. " _What_ did you do?" He stared at Taeyong's smiley face in horror.

"Thanking you."

Doyoung frowned. He only shrugged, it wasn't really big of an ordeal. He was only helping those who needed his help. "No problem then. And _do not_ thank me like that again."

Somehow, it had become a routine for them. A natural thing to do to eat together. And for the first time of his life, Doyoung actually liked the taste of grilled fish. Even the burnt part on the side felt delicious to him. He didn't know what possessed him.

Perhaps it was Taeyong. But he didn't want to dwell on the overall meaningless things. It was better not to.

Taeyong had offered him fruit before. Certainly not knowing that dragons are predators. They are assigned the role to eat other smaller animals. Not fruit. They are disgusting, vile, terrible choices of food. He didn't know why Taeyong likes it so much. Doyoung gagged when Taeyong forced a bite on him.

Taeyong had become better at fishing and hunting. Doyoung noticed how confident he is now. He'd wore that pretty smile when he succeeded, and showed it to Doyoung, expecting a thumbs up. Doyoung had made it into a habit of his.

Taeyong looked happy. But it was never constant. That too, Doyoung noticed.

In the span of weeks Taeyong had been there with him, it was hard not to notice the littlest things about Taeyong. Doyoung had never had someone to be observed. But now there is Taeyong.

He began to notice the time Taeyong spent staring empty at the sea. To the dynamics it brought to his feet. Waves overlapping and sometimes the wind howled. 

There were those starry nights Taeyong spent staring at the sky. Doyoung beside him. Their clothes were dirty from the sand clinging to their back. Pointing out the constellations he once read in books and the one Xiaojun told him. Xiaojun showed up often inside the story Taeyong told him. Along with the other.

Doyoung was a witness.

He learnt who Kun was. Who was Ten, Winwin, Lucas, Hendery, and Yangyang. The memories Taeyong had made in the ship. Bella, the dog. 

Taeyong had the wonder-like look on his face. From that alone, Doyoung knew those experiences were magical to him. Precious. 

Taeyong told him the books he had read before. Those journals, encyclopedias, fairy tales he sneaked in without his father's knowing. And the fairy tales his mother would tell him as bedtime stories.

And how it had become a mere memory to him. A vague one. For his mother was dead. There was no remnant of hers inside his heart anymore.

Doyoung was intrigued by those stories. For he had never left this island. He was trapped by the nonexistence rope around his feet. And each time Taeyong repeated those stories, he felt a tug on it.

Doyoung hated it.

But when the sky turned starless, he'd choose the sea instead. To stare at.

Doyoung would stay on the tree near the beach. Not wanting to disturb Taeyong and his thoughts. Swinging his legs from the tree, he'd pick a stray branch and plucked the leaves from it, throwing the dead leaves to the ground below. The ground where the dirts meet the sand.

Taeyong usually sits on one of the boulders closest to the sea. Purposefully.

Wanting to talk to the sea, Taeyong once said.

But it seemed like the sea hadn't been listening. Considering how Taeyong still does that from time to time.

Doyoung wondered whether once the leaves on the branch he was holding ran out, Taeyong would be asleep already. Going back to the place he usually sleeps - the bed made out of the leaves near the beach. Usually yes. Tonight should've been no different. But Taeyong changed.

And it forced another change on Doyoung.

"Doyoung?"

Doyoung peeked his head out from where he was lying on the tree. The branches swayed dangerously when he tipped off the edge. "What is it?"

"Can I sleep with you tonight?"

"No."

There was a pause.

"Alright."

Doyoung stared at the top of his head. Taeyong looked down and never looked up again. Doyoung furrowed his eyebrows and jumped from the tree. "What is it? Do you need anything?"

Taeyong let his eyes stray to his surroundings until he could no longer ignore Doyoung's eyes. Again, he picked his nail. Doyoung noticed the dried blood there and pulled his hand away.

"What is it?"

Taeyong looked up and bit his lips. "I want to go to the island."

"What island?" Doyoung hardened his jaw. He pinched his eyebrows together. Busy in thoughts in that instant.

"The one with another dragon. Where the dragon trapped the princess." Taeyong fisted the deteriorating fabric of his pants. "I want to save her."

Doyoung frowned and shook his head. Taeyong looked disappointed at that.

"It wouldn't work. You don't have any ship or even a boat to go there, let alone go back to your palace," Doyoung said. He glanced at the island visible in distance. It looked so near yet so far. Doyoung hated how Taeyong seemed that way too.

"That's why I need your help!" Taeyong said.

When Doyoung didn't answer, Taeyong spoke again, "I have come this far, Doyoung. My friends died because of this stupid quest and it would be very stupid of me not to finish this quest on their behalf. I don't just stay still and wait for the kingdom to come rescue me. I need to prove that I'm capable of doing this."

"How?" he murmured.

"Help me take her to her place. You could fly across the sea while I don't," Taeyong had explained. He looked distressed. Eyes unfocused and he certainly wasn't in his right mind that night.

"And how will you save her? You need to cross the sea first to get to that island." Doyoung fixed his stance, making him tower over Taeyong's fragile form.

"With my help?" Doyoung dared him.

Taeyong shrunk under his glare

Doyoung turned to the island. In terms of size and view, the island was almost the same. It was bound for Taeyong to mistake the right island for this.

There was a bitter realization dawned on Doyoung's mind. 

_He was keeping Taeyong like one of his possessions_.

In the end, this wasn't the right island. This wasn't the place Taeyong wanted to be. Doyoung and his island was just a stop. Temporal. Taeyong was never meant to be here. Taeyong was meant to board the ship and arrive safely at the right island and save the princess. Then they'll go back to their palace and he'll sign the peace treaty to revive his kingdom into its greatness. 

He'll become the king and rule his kingdom rightfully and wisely. He'll die with honour and will be remembered as a great ruler.

_Taeyong shouldn't be here in the first place._

Stranded on the island with a dragon. He'll die here. While the dragon would still live by the day he died.

Doyoung was standing on his destiny. Taeyong had strayed too far from his path. All because of Doyoung's selfish wish to have a friend with him here in this damned island. Selfish and stubborn. A mere human like Taeyong couldn't change his demeanor even one bit.

Again, Doyoung hardened his jaw.

"I won't help you, Taeyong. This is your quest," Doyoung said calmly. But his face betrayed all of the effort he put to not looked like he care about all of these things. Just like that, Doyoung walked away from the beach.

Taeyong ran after him, _desperate_. "Doie, wait! But I need-"

"No. You don't need anyone, Taeyong." Doyoung shook his head. "You're more than capable. The one time you worked with somebody else, you ruined everything by being ignorant. I won't help you.

When the footsteps of Taeyong could still be heard behind him, Doyoung sighed and turned back. Taeyong stopped on his track, already got Doyoung's attention now.

"In the end, you did this just to prove yourself. You didn't want to save the princess. You want to save yourself. Just like that, you worked better alone, Taeyong."

Behind him, Taeyong ran after him and yelled his name numerous times. But Doyoung had closed his ears. He wanted to hear nothing that night.

That night, Doyoung had a hard time sleeping. Tossing around on the newly made nest. Clearly uncomfortable and wasn't used to it. But, he didn't want to go back to his usual nest. Taeyong must've been waiting for him there. He knew because he saw the desperation in his eyes.

There were no stars that night. But the moon sure shone the brightest tonight, Doyoung mused.


	4. Chapter 4

Doyoung hadn't realized he had been sleeping until he woke up at dawn. Head immediately perked up from his nest to check on the sky. The sun had yet to rise. And the air was cold. It was fortunate for him that he is a coldblooded _monster_.

He wanted to go back to sleep. But something irked him to the bone. It rooted inside his mind. A banner with something written boldly in red : Lee Taeyong.

He needed to check on Taeyong.

Discreetly, he went back to the beach, to where Taeyong usually sleeps. He became worried when he found it empty. Still the same as it was yesterday. Even Taeyong's favorite fragrant leaves were unchanging. Taeyong must've been awake.

He kept his steps low as he moved closer to the beach. He looked around and found him. There stood Taeyong. On the edge of the beach. Still staring at the island. Longing.

Doyoung could see Taeyong sigh. The spear in his hand looked heavy. Taeyong took a step back and turned from the sea. Doyoung hid behind the trees, not wanting Taeyong to see him right now.

"What is he doing?" Doyoung whispered to the bird beside him. The bird - of course - didn't answer and left him to fly somewhere else. Prolly snitching on Doyoung and telling the other animal about Doyoung's weird behaviour that early morning.

Doyoung squinted his eyes when Taeyong started running towards the sea. "What _the hell_ is he doing?"

Taeyong ran and ran, not caring whether the cold water started to rise up to his ankles, calves, hip, and chest. And then he swam away from the beach, fragile body shivering in the cold. Clearly not accustomed to. Every breath he took and released became more like a shuddering breath. 

He tiptoed the bottom of the sea until he could no longer reach it, and he started paddling with his feet. The water was cold, and the wave kept trying to send him back to the land. But Taeyong was stubborn. 

Taeyong kept his feet. Treading the water. His gaze was focused on one thing, the island. 

Somehow he could already envision the dragon, and the princess and the success he'd achieve. He ignored the other ending that flashed through his mind though. It wouldn't happen. He got a weapon now. He was going to kill a dragon with another dragon's nail. It should work.

It should work. Taeyong should.

Taeyong felt like he was already halfway there when he felt a hand circling his waist and pulled him. He gasped and screamed, asking for help. To who, he didn't know. He just wanted to break free from the arms caging him. He screamed and rebelled against its hold. The water splashed around when he struggled to get out of the grip. He kicked around and pushed the hand away.

Behind him, Doyoung clicked his tongue, annoyed. "Stop moving, Taeyong! Stop it, you're hurting yourself!"

"No -" he squirmed again, hitting Doyoung's arm on his waist- "I'm not. Stop telling me what to do."

"You fool! You'll die from the cold! Think with your head, Taeyong! I'm not going to let you die!" Doyoung said through his gritted teeth in an attempt to pull Taeyong back to the shore. He didn't know why Taeyong suddenly got this heavy. Doyoung struggled to swim back to the beach.

"No, no, no. Let me go!" Taeyong wailed, clawing at his forearm. But everytime his sharp nail scratched and scraped Doyoung's forearm skin, it healed right away. It scared him. How much of a monster Doyoung was. 

" _Never_. We're going back." Doyoung leaned forward when Taeyong suddenly went lax on his hold. Unusually quiet. "Taeyong?"

Taeyong turned to him in his hold and faced him. His hair was wet and stuck to his forehead. His eyes teary and wavering under Doyoung's glare. Doyoung accidentally looked down on his lips. They were blue and he could see Taeyong's teeth chattered against each other.

"Aren't you feeling cold?"

"No," he breathed out, teeth audibly chattered again. Taeyong closed his mouth and looked away. "I can bear the cold."

"Don't hurt your-"

"You told me to do it alone."

"This is stupid, Taeyong," Soyoung said, ending the pointless argument.

Taeyong blinked and sobbed. Doyoung couldn't help but to wipe the tears away. Watching Taeyong leaned into his palm. Clearly having a hard time to think right now. "I just wanted to make things right, Doyoung. I don't know why I keep on messing things up. I can't even think straight right now."

Doyoung sighed. He pulled Taeyong into a hug. He ignited a spark of fire inside his throat to keep them warm. Taeyong was surprised by the sudden hug, but he didn't show any intention to let go. And Doyoung wasn't one to initiate something. Taeyong sobbed against his shoulder, trying to calm his ragged breath. They stayed like that for a while. With the wave swaying them slowly, lulling Taeyong to sleep since he hadn't slept since last night. But Doyoung knew better than to let Taeyong fall asleep in the water. He could die from the cold. 

Gently, he tapped on his back. Taeyong let out a contented sigh against his shoulder. "You're warm."

"I know."

"Yeah."

"Do you want to go back?"

Taeyong murmured against his tightened hug. " _Please_."

Taeyong passed out right after Doyoung took off his clothes and put him near the fire he built. He mumbled words in his sleep. He was dreaming. Doyoung hoped it was a good dream.

Doyoung sighed and let go of Taeyong's hand that was gripping his wrist. But the grip tightened. Doyoung looked down on Taeyong. To his furrowed brows and the dried tears on his cheek.

Doyoung wiped them.

Taeyong mumbled and twisted in his sleep. In the end, Doyoung found himself staying in the same place until Taeyong found peace in his sleep. Content with the warm of the fire and the way the wind stroked his head gently. He no longer shivers in the cold.

Taeyong woke up at night with a grumble of his stomach.

And to the smell of something burning.

"Ah, you're awake," came a familiar voice. Taeyong turned to Doyoung and a piece of fish in his hand. 

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to feed you."

Taeyong paused for a moment to stare at Doyoung, and the uncertainty of his hovering hand. "Are you doing this out of pity?" Taeyong asked, asking for clarity. He bit his chapped lip and it bled. He lapped it up and winced.

"It would be a lie if I say that I'm not. But does it matter? Don't you need any help possible right now? Whatever the intention?" Doyoung asked. His face was serious, almost grim. "You should do whatever it takes to live Taeyong. Life first, pride second. Or no, pride couldn't make your stomach full, you should just throw it to the sea," Doyoung said. He took something invisible from Taeyong and threw it with all of his might to the sea.

"There, I just threw your pride," Doyoung exclaimed. "Now eat! Open your mouth!" Doyoung aggressively shove the fish to Taeyong's face.

Taeyong blinked at the burnt piece of fish Doyoung offered to his mouth. He stifled a laugh bubbling in his throat.

Doyoung frowned. "What? I saw the birds do this to their children. Since they couldn't hunt for themselves."

Taeyong stared at the fish then to Doyoung. He hid the smile forming on his face. Taeyong opened his mouth and ate the fish, accidentally biting Doyoung's finger in the process. "Have you washed your hands?"

"I already ran them on the sea. Not for hygiene purposes, for seasoning purposes only."

Taeyong laughed and Doyoung smiled. 

"It is salty. Also bitter, but edible."

"Give me a break. I usually eat it raw and I have never cooked before."

"Mhm. You have a buried potential somewhere." Taeyong chewed on the fish and winced when he felt a sand inside his mouth. "Better to not dig it, Doie."

Doyoung scoffed and handed him the whole fish. "Here, eat it yourself. You're fine if you are able to insult me like that," Doyoung said, concealing his relief. He got himself another fish and took a bite. Doyoung made a face.

Doyoung was eating when Taeyong suddenly stood up, walking towards the sea.

"Where are you going?"

"Throwing way my pride," Taeyong said, throwing nothing to the sea. 

"Didn't I just throw it away for you?"

"Yes, but you missed a spot."

"Whatever."

Doyoung stared at the distance where Taeyong's pride landed and whistle. "Well, now you have no choice but to live shamelessly, Taeyong."

They shared a laugh again when Doyoung tasted the burnt fish again. Doyoung relished in the moment. The sky above them was full of stars. Taeyong likes this kind of night, Doyoung noted. 

"I have a lot of things to learn from you then," Taeyong declared, taking a seat next to Doyoung.

Taeyong was pointing to the stars and the moon. But Doyoung only stared at the gleam in his eyes. Pretty much the same. Beautiful. Except that he knew that Taeyong was beside him. Unlike the stars, the moon, and everything that gleamed other than his beautiful eyes of his.

Doyoung was the happiest that night.

The feast ended too soon and Taeyong found himself once again lying beside a dragon on a beach. It was weird - _surreal_. How he used to not believe in fairy tales. It was an interesting story, really. But for it to become real upon his eyes, was _magical_.

"How old are you, Doyoung?"

"I stopped counting a long time ago. Why do you ask?"

"I'm twenty five," Taeyong said, turning to face Doyoung. He smiled sweetly before putting Doyoung's hand on his head. Patting himself with Doyoung's hand. "That would make me your little brother."

"Ew. I'd rather not have you as my little brother."

Taeyong laughed. But it soon died down. Drowned by the sound of the wind rattling the trees in the forest behind them.

"Doie?"

"Mhm?"

Taeyong took a minute to answer. Doyoung learnt not to push on Taeyong and was about to tell him that it was alright to just keep it to himself when Taeyong answered, though more about a question. "Will you come with me to my kingdom later on?" Taeyong pleaded, staring into his eyes intently. Gleaming, reflecting the stars. Doyoung swore he saw a galaxy there.

Doyoung swallowed hard. "Why?"

"You're my precious friend, Doyoung. I don't want to lose a friend," Taeyong finally said his greedy intention.

Doyoung shook his head and offered him a timid smile. "I can't leave this island, Taeyong." His nails dug into the sand and it dirtied his nail. The texture felt weird on his hand. "Even if I wanted to."

"Why?" Taeyong asked, crestfallen expression perched on his face. Doyoung almost felt guilty for it.

“I think it’s a curse bestowed upon me," Doyoung breathed out. He lowered his head to the sand below, neck tired of being strained trying to keep his gaze on Taeyong. Beside him, Taeyong shifted again, accidentally elbowing his ribs. He groaned.

"I had a friend before. He's kind, like you. Brave, even braver than me."

"We know everyone is braver than you, Taeyong."

"Be quiet - and he's the first person to take me to the sea. I had my first sail with him."

Doyoung stared at one of the constellations in the sky. The stars were blinding and he closed his eyes. Imagining Taeyong and his friend sailing for the first time. He imagined the way Taeyong would be amazed at the littlest thing the sea offered to him. "What's his name?"

"Taeil."

"Oh," Doyoung nodded at the unfamiliar name. 

"Do you like poems, Doyoung?"

"Never read one," Doyoung had admitted.

"Taeil made great poems. He had ways with words. I like reading his poems. Sometimes I wish I could write something close to the beauty of it. Taeil taught me but I never really grasped it well." Taeyong chuckled at the memory.

"Words are... not my forte," Taeyong said, reciting what Taeil once said to him as a joke in a sunny day back in his palace. The day he had spent in the garden, trying to make a poem about a flower. But all Taeyong could see was the flower itself. The parts of the flower, the use, the things he could find inside the encyclopedias without having to be in the garden with the flower itself.

Taeil had scolded him for it.

"Do you still sail, and write poems with him?"

Taeyong huffed a laugh at the irony. "I can't… even if I want to."

"Why?" Doyoung craned his neck to face Taeyong. Taeyong turned to his too and Doyoung stared at Taeyong's glassy eyes. Taeyong hastily wiped it.

"He's dead. I lost him to the sea," Taeyong whispers.

Doyoung hummed, not knowing exactly what to say. Should he say sorry to the death he didn't even know? "Is that why you hate the sea so much?"

"I don't hate the sea. I like it. It's just that- I…"

Taeyong stopped midway. Yet to find the perfect word to describe his mixed feelings. There was sincerity when Taeyong shook his head. He rested his head on the sand again and sighed.

"I understand."

Doyoung felt something snaked around his hand and he recognized it. It wasn't the crab living in the sand below them. Or animals. Doyoung knew what it was, but it still felt unfamiliar to him. He squeezed it to make sure of it.

Beside him, Taeyong squeezed Doyoung's hand too. Taeyong huffed a laugh and Doyoung followed.

They let the silence stay for a while. Silently they mapping the stars with their twinkling eyes. It was odd to admit that this was the same sky Taeyong saw back in his palace.

Taeyong didn't know what was so interesting about the fire burning thousand miles above them. But he kept on staring. Silently wishing one of them will fall and he could say his wish out loud.

But still, nothing happened.

Taeyong whistled a melody. It rang through the empty beach, resonating through the cold air and the wind. It was pleasing, though Doyoung never heard of it before.

He simply closed his eyes and listened. Appreciating.

When Taeyong stopped, he asked, "What's the title of the song?"

Taeyong turned to him. "I never knew what the title was."

"Did you make it up?"

"Some of it was from a lullaby my mother used to sing me to sleep. And the rest was me trying to put notes in the blank spaces I can't remember."

Doyoung paused for a moment. "It sounds good. Pleasing. I like it."

Taeyong hummed more of the song to Doyoung, now that he knew the dragon likes it. But after a while, his throat went sore and he gave up too early. Choosing to welcome the silence once again. Doyoung didn't mind. He liked the sound of nature as well.

It was Taeyong who broke the silence first, caling his name. "Doyoung?"

"Mhm?"

“Should I kiss you?” Taeyong asked all of sudden.

Doyoung sat up and backed away from Taeyong. “What? No. Why?”

Taeyong chuckled and moved into a more comfortable position, putting his arms behind his head that served as a pillow. "You said that it's a curse." 

The hands under his head did little to his headache but better than to ruin his hairstyle by laying on dirt. “Back when I was little, my mom told me a lot of fairy tales.”

“Some involve princesses, dragons, monsters, and the most important thing, _true love_." Doyoung stared at Taeyong's eyes and he could almost see the mirth dancing in his eyes dreamily. He felt sick. 

"True love is always the solution of every misfortune," Taeyong added.

Doyoung stared a beat longer at Taeyong. He arched an eyebrow. “You believe that? Is that why you willingly put yourself into danger just to save a stranger?”

“I think the moment I decided to save her, she was no longer a stranger. She is the person I truly love," Taeyong said, no sincerity to be found.

“But you don’t know her.”

Taeyong looked up to the starry sky. Back in his hometown, smoke from the factory clouded the sky every night. Covering all the stars and making the sky look grey all the time. But on this island, lying beside a dragon, he could see every star he once studied from his father’s journal.

“I don’t,” he repeated. He lifted a hand, no reason. Just felt like it. Swaying arm from one side to side, feeling the night wind flew from land to the sea. It was a perfect kind of wind to just sail away. Maybe if he’s lucky the wind will allow him to visit the other island. The one with the princess and another dragon.

“But I will know her. And love her,” Taeyong whispered to the star. It sounded like a wish upon the star rather than assurance. Sadly, the dragon heard him too. “My father told me to.”

“Your father’s not here,” Doyoung said. 

Taeyong turned to him and Doyoung could see his glassy eyes reflecting all the galaxies that ever exist. “My father’s at home. And I will be home soon. Even if he’s not here beside me, eventually, he will.”

"I see."

“Are you telling me to rebel against my father?” Taeyong asked, voice small, once he realized the meaning behind Doyoung's words.

Doyoung shook his head and hugged his knees tighter, resting his chin on it. “I’m telling you to live by your will.”

Doyoung stared at the sky, and to the sea, and back to the sky he always gazed at every other night. Somehow, it felt different this time.

He felt kinda sentimental tonight as he listened to the wave hitting the shore multiple times. Taking a piece of sand from this island and sending it to another place, maybe another island. Or maybe to the sea ground where it would increase the depth of the sea. This island won’t last for eternity. While he will.

Beside him, Taeyong whistled a song. Unfamiliar to him yet very dear to the man beside him. It was clear in the way it sounded. “Still need a kiss?” Taeyong asked.

“I don’t know. I’m not your true love,” Doyoung shrugged and stood up. Taeyong knew where he was going, to the top of the tree, perched on there sleeping. He dusted the sand from his behind and walked away, leaving Taeyong to sleep on the ground. 

"If you want to save the princess and leave this island, you should build your own boat. It's better than swimming. The sea is dangerous after all, Taeyong. Be careful."

"You're right," Taeyong mumbled.

Doyoung smiled at him. Eyes droopy from the sleepiness taking over him

“And about the kiss," Doyoung turned away from him, flustered, "maybe not tonight. Night, Taeyong.”

Doyoung wouldn't like to call their situation awkward. Cause it wasn't. Really. It was just him that think about too much. Taeyong was the same the next morning. And the next. And the next too. And every other morning after that.

Doyoung didn't know what stressed him so much and the bird that nested on his tree wouldn't tell a thing.

Recently, Taeyong busied himself building a boat from the tree. It was ugly, in Doyoung's opinion. Which left him no choice but to take the matter into his hand himself. He swore to god that this prince is so stupid. All of his life was spent in the library yet he didn't know a thing about how to build a boat.

 _'I'm a prince, remember. I have never done this before,'_ Taeyong reasoned everytime Doyoung complained.

But Taeyong is a quick learner. And Doyoung was thankful for that or else he'll go bald from his impatience alone. To be bald before you reach another millenium is a no no, Doyoung told himself.

Another thing to add is that Taeyong is a curious piece of shit.

Doyoung faintly remembered how Taeyong introduced himself as a prince and a scholar from a kingdom far away. But he didn't know that it was _this_ bad.

This island seemed to pique his interest. There's many things to be observed here, Taeyong once said. Doyoung didn't know if it was due to him living alone on this island or just because he deemed that there is nothing extraordinary in this island. Doyoung never knew.

He only stared in disgust as Taeyong observed a rock. A literal rock.

"Interesting. I have never seen this kind of rock before."

"...sure."

"Mhm, it's similar to granite. But the color… I think it's a diorite."

"Diorite?" Doyoung asked, never once heard that word. He winced when Taeyong started smelling the rock. He was pretty sure it was dirty.

"Yes but it's strange. Diorite could only be found on the mountain. The question is, how did it get here on the beach?" Taeyong asked to the thin air, acting like he just discovered a new conspiracy. He turned to Doyoung and his crossed arms, "How Doyoung? This thing really intrigues me. I need my journal but I left them in my room."

Doyoung rolled his eyes. Clearly not having the heart to tell Taeyong that it was him who moved the rock around. Dragons tend to like rocks and hoard them, and Doyoung isn't any different. "This is stupid," he whispered.

Taeyong heard it and looked scandalous. He threw the rock he just called precious a minute ago at Doyoung's feet.

Doyoung hissed. The sharp point of the rock scratched his foot a little. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"This is important Doyoung!"

"I could see that," Doyoung said sarcastically. He was about to comment again when Taeyong threw another small rock to his legs. "Taeyong!"

"Uncultured swine. You should read more books."

"I'm illiterate - _don't_ look at me like that - and stop throwing rocks at me. What is this? Bible? Use something else, you fungus."

Taeyong threw a handful of sand around him at Doyoung. He giggled mischievously.

Doyoung gasped. "How dare you. It could've gotten into my eyes."

"But it didn't." Taeyong sat back on his legs and smiled at the sand. "You know, back in my home, I could play snowball fight with Chenle and the others. But it didn't even snow here."

"Is it winter in your place?"

"I'm not sure. I stopped counting the days, or even months," Taeyong said, looking at the sea longingly. It was after a better observation that Doyoung noticed it wasn't the sea that Taeyong longed for. It was what lies across the sea. Home. Doyoung never knew what it truly feels. He never once left his home, this island.

Why leave when he had anything he needed? But after Taeyong came, and brought his world with him, Doyoung wondered what the rest of the world is like. Will they be as wonderful as Taeyong had told him?

A part of him had hoped so. But when Taeyong told him about those - _stupid_ \- fairy tales, Doyoung doubted that the world would be as nice as Taeyong when it comes to him, a dragon. It brought anxiety to his sleep.

But Doyoung knew he shouldn't think about it. He would never leave this island, after all. Simply because there is no reason for him to. 

Doyoung patted Taeyong's slumped shoulder. He kneeled beside Taeyong and took a handful of sand. Without a word, he left Taeyong and went to see the water.

Slowly, he dipped the sand to the water and shaped it into a ball. "Oi Taeyong! Come here!"

Taeyong looked up from the drawing he did on the sand. Seeing Doyoung waving aggressively in the distance made curiosity spark in him. He dusted off the sand on his pants and walked to him.

"What is it? Did you find another ro - ah!"

In front of him, Doyoung giggled.Staring at his masterpiece.

"You made me look like I wet my pants!" Taeyong shrieked, staring at the lump of wet sand on his pants.

"You look nice," Doyoung said, thumbs up.

Taeyong scoffed and made himself a ball of sand. "Come here, Doyoung, you need to look nice too. I'll help you," Taeyong calmly said. But the contraction of his muscles on his arms proved it wrong. Doyoung quickly ran away, screaming.

Taeyong chased him. Sand was still wet in his hand. He had a joy scaring the poor dragon. But Doyoung wasn't one to give up from the game he started. He quickly scraped his claw on the wet sand and threw it to Taeyong. But it missed.

Behind him, Taeyong gasped. "You're cheating! No claws allowed!"

"What do you mean? There is no rule Taeyong! Shameless, remember?"

They exchanged a few balled wet sands. Dirtying their clothes. But they had a great laugh seeing each other being a mess covered in sand. And after Taeyong's legs gave up, Doyoung dragged him to the water, to wash up the sand.

Taeyong closed his eyes and focused on the cool feeling all over his body. The salt water soothing his exhaustion. Beside him, Doyoung was busy pouring water all over his body, cleaning himself.

Taeyong laughed again. "You still got something on your face."

"Really?"

"Yes, wait a minute, I'll just..." Taeyong trailed off, rubbing his dirty sandy hands all over Doyoung's face. "Yeah. You look better now. Handsome"

It made Doyoung flustered. "You tricked me!" Doyoung yelled at him. His angry sand-covered face made Taeyong laugh uncontrollably, shaking on the ground holding his stomach.

"Can't believe I trust you. Never again, never again!" Doyoung exclaimed before dipping his face on the water.

In a world where dragons exist, it was already the law that their natural enemies should exist too. No reason. It was just the law of nature that Doyoung despises.

Even from the highest top of the tree, he could still feel it coming. The sound of the leaves and twigs being crushed. The change of the wind. And mostly the long hiss it let out every now and then. Doyoung tried to close his eyes and ignored it. Pardon, Doyoung meant, it's him. But his attempt failed nonetheless.

“Doie! Hey Doyoung!” the creature shouted his name as if to let the whole island know where he was. The syllable was unclear because his tongue was made solely to hiss.

“Doyoung!”

“What?!”

Doyoung heard nothing afterward, forcing him to get down from the tree if he wanted to know why the damned creature kept calling his name. He groaned and rolled over until he fell to the ground. It punched the breath out of him and he groaned at the pain on his shoulder. He winced and rubbed his shoulder for a while before opening his eyes. 

“Talk about perfect landing, Doie.”

Doyoung rolled his eyes at the sight of scale-covered skin that ends with an annoying face at the top, grinning. “Death to your tongue, snake.”

The snake only hiss, extending the s just to mock Doyoung and showing that the dragon’s curse were just empty words. “Sure,” Yuta said, flashing a toothy grin.

It has been bothering Doyoung for eternity now. About why a snake has a set of blunt teeth. It haunts him in his sleep because what the heck. Also, it’s creepy.

Doyoung got up and brushed the dirt from his skin away. He looked up to Yuta that towered over him. Doyoung scoffed.

"Can you just go back to your human form?"

The snake slithered, circling Doyoung. He could just tighten his tail and it would strangle Doyoung's body and crush it.

He tightened his tail on Doyoung's leg for a while and went away. "I'm not even human."

And Doyoung couldn't argue. Perhaps Doyoung didn't like a situation where he knew he would be losing. Perhaps that was why he changed the topic too early.

"Looking for food?" he asked. His stance never lost its strength and neither the crease on his brow. Ever so evident on his face.

The snake grinned so wide it unhinged his jaw to split his face into two. "You do know me so _well_!"

"You're not going to eat me, Yuta." The wind blew and it shattered the fallen leaves on the ground. Doyoung peeked slightly at the pattern on the snake's skin. 

"At least not in your territory, Doie. Don't worry, I'm not looking for a scaly meat," Yuta said, brushing his hands altogether. Something about him always screams evil yet Doyoung never knew what. The snake was just smiling and talking, yet the urge to punch him grew significantly over the passing time.

"Rather-" the snake looked everywhere, searching for something after hearing a rustle of the leaves- "I was craving tender meat. _Human's_."

Doyoung hummed. So, Yuta already knew. 

"You're not going to get any humans on this island, Yuta. You have eaten the last one years ago."

The snake raised a hand and rubbed his chin thoughtfully, pretending to think. Doyoung knew because this snake isn't even capable of thinking. Every action he did was solely based on his instinct and want. Impulsive, as he always says.

"Mhm, you're right. But I do smell one right now." Yuta sniffed around. 

Doyoung tensed his jaw. "I don't."

Doyoung watched as the snake slithered closer to his tree, wrapping his body around the tree bark. Slowly he went up. "See, therein lies your mistake. Even I know that the smell came from the beach."

When he reached the top, he yelled, "I can't see it from here, but it sure came from the beach!"

Doyoung turned to the beach. The forest is not far from the beach and Yuta is fast. But if he could just fly from here then he would arrive right on time before Yuta to protect-

Doyoung shook his head. No.

"Hey, Doie?" 

_Oh no._

"Wanna race there?" he asked, offering a game they used to play.

"First one gets the first bite," Yuta offered, mouth dripping with venom and saliva. Mouth already watered at the thought of the tender meat between his jaws.

 _Taeyong_ between his jaw.

Doyoung shook his head and held a hand up. "No," Doyoung passed up the offer, "I'm good." 

"Ooh? What's this?" The snake slithered down the tree, face inching up closer to Doyoung's face. "A dragon is not interested in eating a human?" Doyoung didn't back away and scoffed.

"Well, alright then."

The snake slithered away. Leaving a trail of crushed leaves, twigs and some kind of disgusting moist on the ground. Doyoung followed the trail and went up to the snake's face.

Yuta grinned, "I'm not going to share." 

"Sure," he said nonchalantly.

He watched as Yuta slithered away, hands opening the bushes to go through it. Every now and then muttering 'sure' with the s emphasized. Just to mock Doyoung. Not that it would ever earn any reaction from Doyoung.

Not that the fact that Taeyong is in danger would ever earn any reaction from Doyoung. Right?

No. Fool. Fool for everyone that thought that way, including Doyoung himself.

Doyoung stilled for a moment, simply letting the realization sedimenting in his deepest part of his mind. Taeyong must be building his boat by now. Completely unaware of the threat moving at an insane speed towards him. The next thing Taeyong would know is that his bone is crushed against a scale-y tail and he would be a piece of snack for the snake.

Long gone his hope to get out of this island alive. Unless he magically survives and the wind blows in his favor.

"Fungus!" he exclaimed, kicking a stray wind.

Another wind passed by and by the time it passed, Doyoung wasn’t there anymore. Instead, there was a monster there. Claws digging to the ground by its weight and fury. Wings cracked tremendously when he stretched it from his shoulder to its full length. His iris was a straight line on the yellowish sclera, staring dagger at the trail the snake left.

No one, _no one_ should ever take a dragon’s belongings.

His wings didn’t flutter when he left the ground. It literally cut through the wind with a flap as he lifted his body. And so did when he flew above the forest to the beach. Saving a prince that was trying to save the princess.

It has been a while since he unclasped his folded wings. Been a while since he flew this high. Been a while since Taeyong stranded on this island. 

He looked down on the green on the ground. There were trampled trees in some areas, showing a sign of Yuta’s path. It wasn’t hard to locate the creature. Not when all Doyoung had to do was to see which tree got trampled and there he could see another glint of sunray hitting scaly skin. He looked like a diamond hidden on a meadow. And Doyoung was in the mood for a treasure hunt.

Unlike a real snake that would attack unprovoked and in silence, Yuta mocked human's fear by singing a hiss from his tongue. Deep and raspy it startled Taeyong.

Taeyong stopped tying knots into his boat and turned to the snake. When he was faced with a toothy grin, he backed away. But when his eyes went down to its body, he stumbled backward and fell on his unfinished boat.

"Wha-what," he muttered. " _What are you._ "

"I'm Yuta," Yuta said, inching closer to Taeyong's trembling body. He licked his lips and Taeyong widened his eyes at the sight of the weird tongue.

It was different from Doyoung. He knew Doyoung would never hurt him, but this creature in front of, everything about him screamed at him to just run. Or maybe it was because his intention was clear from the very start - _to eat him_.

And Taeyong trusted his primal brain more than he should.

Taeyong bolted from where he fell. His need to survive kept pumping adrenaline through his veins. Clouding his brain with panic when he realized that the snake was after him. The sand under his feet made it hard for him to run but he managed. Trying his best to run not in a straight line, but in a wavy line, just to make it hard for Yuta to catch up to him.

He read it somewhere in a book.

But no matter how fast Taeyong ran, or how complicated his steps were, the snake seemed to be faster. He'll catch up soon, Taeyong thought to himself. His legs can only take him to this far then. He screamed and ran faster, forcing his legs again.

The wind got faster the nearer he got to the sea and a sand got into his eyes. He rubbed his eyes and tripped on a stray coral planted on the sand. It scratched his feet and he winced.

The salt water seeped to his open wound and stung. But it was nowhere near Taeyong's brain. The only thing Taeyong had in his brain was how close the snake was.

Taeyong twisted his body and crawled away.

But a snake with limbs was not one to be underestimated. Taeyong learnt the hard truth when he felt a pair of hands creeping onto his ankle and pulled him back, preventing him from running away.

Taeyong wriggled away from the grasp, but to no avail, it didn't work. The snake was just too strong. And his body has given up too quickly. He could only screamed when the snake brought him up, jaws open wide to swallow him whole.

The nails on his ankle dug deep and he screamed when it teared the skin there. His life flashed before his eyes. He closed his eyes, as there was nothing left to do.

In a spur of moment, the pain went from his ankle to his head. And just now Taeyong noticed that the snake had dropped him to the ground once again. He hit the ground with a dull thud and he scrambled away.

Taeyong looked up to see why the snake had let him go. But the moment he looked up, he saw something else.

There was another monster there. Claws grabbed the snake's body and tripped him to the sand. Yuta was startled by the sudden change of position and surged backward to the dragon.

Yuta wriggled away from the dragon's claw, but the claw on his tail hurt him. He screamed and wrapped himself on the dragon's neck to choke him.

The dragon stumbled backward and released his grasp on the snake, freeing the snake.

"I told you not to disturb my hunting!" Yuta yelled into his face. Tail still sat tight on the dragon's neck. Yuta knew. Yuta knew how weak a dragon is without its fire. That was why he aimed for the neck in first place. But the dragon was quick to cut the snake's skin with his sharp claw. The snake wriggled to get away from it, hissing at the dragon. Taeyong wondered if the snake was venomous or not. He kept observing the monsters.

Taeyong widened his eyes when he saw the cut healed back perfectly.

Taeyong stared at the monsters in front of him. Fighting each other. When his eyes landed on the dragon's eye - yellow and primal - he gasped. He knew that eye.

" _Doyoung_?"

The dragon - of course - didn't answer. Only attacked the snake once again. There were bites exchanged, venom, and fire involved. It was brutal. Taeyong found himself crying when the dragon let out a cry after the snake bit his leg. Taeyong collapsed to the ground. Nails digging into the dirty sand below. He knew he shouldn't be here. He should run. While the monsters were busy fighting each other, Taeyong should use this as a chance to escape.

And yet, his legs stayed still.

The dragon let out a roar and gripped the snake using his claws. The snake slithered around, trying to wrap himself on the dragon's knee. But the dragon was quick to spread his wings and flew away. The clap of his wings alone was enough to make a strong eind blow.Taeyong watched as they fought in the air, but it got harder to see once the dragon flew higher and further from him to the forest. Taeyong squinted his eyes.Faintly, Taeyong could see something dropped from the sky to the forest below. Taeyong gasped.

One of them has lost. There gone the distraction Taeyong needed to get out of the island alive. He was doomed. He'll die getting eaten by one of those vicious monsters now. 

Taeyong willed his legs to stand up. With flimsy steps, he ran back to his unfinished boat. He just needed to tighten the sail and fix a few parts. But other than that, his boat was ready to sail. Taeyong was ready to sail to save the princess. This island was no longer safe for him. He needed to leave soon.

Soon as in _now_.

Taeyong strengthened his will and wiped his tears and snot. With shaking fingers, he tied the rope and the sail to his boat. It wasn't the best sail - only a cloth Doyoung gave him from washed up treasures the sea brought. Gently, he straightened the sail and placed a wood piece inside the boat to strengthen it.

He checked on his supplies. Food, dried fish, and water he got from the pond. Only then he realized that there was something missing from his boat. He turned back to retrieve his spears that he left on the ground. Taeyong turned around and gasped at the dragon in front of him. 

Staring at him. Unmoving.

Taeyong swallowed hard and eyed the spear on the dragon's feet. If he's fast enough, he could take the spear before the dragon could attack. But he also knew the smallest movement could alert the dragon and could get him killed. Taeyong opted to stay still, keeping both eyes on the dragon.

When he looked down again to the dragon's feet, Taeyong noticed something. Something familiar to the one on his spear. He also noticed the missing nail on his front leg. He croaked out, "Doyoung? Is that really you?"

The dragon blinked slowly at him. Taeyong didn't understand what it meant. He only watched as the dragon used his muzzle to push the spear to Taeyong's feet.

Taeyong looked at the spear warily and snatched it before the dragon could react. He quickly ran back to his boat. But by the time he arrived, he noticed that the rope was untied. Taeyong cursed and hastily tried to tie it back, occasionally looking back to the dragon behind him to check if it was going to eat him or not.

But the fear had consumed his right mind and made him unable to tie the rope without trembling ever so slightly. The rope slipped from his grasp. He made a sound of distress. Taeyong was about to bend down to pick it when another hand showed up and took it.

Taeyong turned around. He saw Doyoung. The human Doyoung.

"Doyoung."

Doyoung didn't say a thing, only motioning for Taeyong to step aside while he tied the rope to the sail once again. "This is how you tie the rope, Taeyong. You need to remember this from now on."

Taeyong observed the way Doyoung's hands moved against the rope. But it soon got blurred. He sniffed and wiped his eyes.

"When you got there, tell him my name. Tell him that you need to take the princess with you. He won't harm you."

Taeyong eyed the island. Anxious.

Doyoung finished tying the knot and turned back to the forest. He squinted to see any movement detectable in his eyes. The rustling of the leaves now seemed to alert him more than it should. "I dumped Yuta somewhere in the forest. But he's fast. He'll come back soon. You have to go now."

Doyoung stared at the crease on Taeyong’s forehead. And the tears drying on his cheeks. Doyoung had decided that he didn’t like it. Happiness looks better on him. Gently, he raised his hand to wipe his tears. But when Taeyong flinched away, Doyoung knew better to retract.

He frowned. “Taeyong.”

The said man had his trembling lips in between his teeth, a failed attempt trying to look alright. Taeyong turned to face the sand, pupils quivering with no clear direction.

“Are you scared of me?”

Taeyong looked up to him. But still, he offered nothing but silence. He didn’t deny the statement, Doyoung noted. Maybe he stared way too hard that it turned into a glare that scared him, but Doyoung saw the way Taeyong's eyes flitted to his hands. Doyoung stared at his hand. A normal human’s hand. The remnant of the bitemarks the snake left haven’t healed perfectly yet.

But they both know Doyoung isn’t human. This form of his is _fake_. Deception.

In the end of every fairy tale, the dragon was the one who had to be killed. Because they’re the villain of the story.

Doyoung blinked the blurring vision away. His hands were balled into fists on his side. His heart pounded. Red anger flushed his cheek, a touch of warmth. He wanted to smash his fist on the trees. Feeling the splinters tried to cut through his thick skin but failed. Exchanging one pain for another that might be easier to bear. In the end, Doyoung didn’t.

He spoke into his own emptiness, making his own conclusion, “ _You are._ ”

“Have I finally become the perfect monster you had always imagined?” Doyoung dared. But it lacked the cynicism it should have. Instead, to fill out the emptiness on his voice, there were tears.

" _Doyoung,_ " Taeyong called out, weak attempt. His shaking hands tried to reach for Doyoung. Doyoung let him be, already knew those hands wouldn't be able to come closer. And he was right. Taeyong must've thought that Doyoung would back away. His action was just a formality, in reality, Taeyong wouldn't want to touch a filty creature like him.

Doyoung stared beats longer than he had intended. Taeyong’s face now engraved clear near his heart. Doyoung hated it. He scoffed to the sand. To the very sand he spent hours lying with Taeyong on. In the very beach he found Taeyong the first time they met.

"Get on the boat and set the sail."

Taeyong nodded and did as Doyoung told him to. The boat wobbled and he almost fell. But he immediately steadied himself. 

Doyoung turned his hands into massive claws and dug them into the boat sides. Pushing the small boat into the sea. To the cold water on that fine day. It should be warm. But then again, the sun is a little bit different in this place. Taeyong had it memorized.

Taeyong sat in the middle, facing Doyoung as Doyoung pushed the boat away. "Will we ever see each other again?" he whispered.

Doyoung retracted once the boat could float on the sea, swaying Taeyong a bit. Wobbly in the middle. Doyoung wanted to answer. But they were already too far apart. Taeyong won't hear his answer. So Doyoung only watched as the boat went further from the beach. 

Doyoung didn't wave. His claws will scare Taeyong. He knew it.

"No," he mumbled to himself.

Taeyong glanced back once after that, and never did that again. For that, Doyoung ran away from the beach.

Taeyong had no map. He could only rely on the way the island he was heading to was visible in front of him.

Slowly, he paddled. Feeling the heaviness of the water and the one in his heart. But he paddled it away. Water sloshing everywhere. The afternoon sky was ugly. A shade of light grey, almost white. It was depressing. Contrast with the dark surface of the sea. No reflection of the clouds above. The sun was there, and the warmth was there with him. But the light was no longer comforting. It made him feel sick. Motion sickness, he reasoned.

He kept his body near the edge of the boat. Solely for not ruining his masterpiece of a boat with his vomit. He abandoned the paddle somewhere - maybe halfway to the destination - and gripped the edge of the boat with his hands. Trying to calm his upset stomach. He swallowed again. Taeyong had his eyes closed, only focusing on the feeling in his stomach. The butterfly he despised.

The wind howled faintly near his ear. But it wasn't the wind when he heard something different.

" _Psst_."

Taeyong opened his eyes. Eyes widening immediately. He looked around. Trying to find the source of the sound. When he found nothing, he deemed that the wind had tricked him. Or it was just him hallucinating. People tend to go crazy after months stranded on an island without other humans, after all.

So Taeyong went back to the silence of his mind.

But the sound came back sooner than he had expected. " _Psst!_ "

Taeyong turned from where he was staring at the deep blue sea. "Who's there?" he asked, wiping his mouth.

"You have to guess!"

Taeyong frowned. That couldn't possibly be the wind. The wind couldn't talk, nor play guessing with him. He strained his ear to hear more of it. There was a clicking sound beside the boat. "You got it wrong for taking too long," the voice spoke again. This time, Taeyong was sure that it came from the left side of the boat. Slowly, he leaned to the left, peeking at the water below.

"Huh-"

Taeyong shrieked when a head popped up from the surface. He jumped backward and the boat swayed dangerously under his weight.

The only thing stopping the boat from flipping over were the stranger's hands gripping the edge. And the only thing stopping Taeyong from falling backward to the water was a pair of hands on his back, supporting his weight.

"What?"

The head popped up again, high enough for Taeyong to finally recognized the face. " _Tada!_ "

Taeyong jerked forward when he saw him. Couldn't believe what he was seeing. His eyes had deceived him so many times that Taeyong began to doubt them. He rubbed his eyes. " _Yangyang?_ " Taeyong exclaimed. He turned to his behind and found a grinning Lucas. Again, he shrieked, " _Lucas?_ " Lucas grinned wider and pushed Taeyong gently to sit down in the middle.

"Long time no see, Your Majesty," Lucas started.

"How, how is this possible?" Taeyong stammered out. He loosened his grip on his spear when Lucas rested his forearms and head on the edge. Taeyong backed away.

The water surface beside Lucas let out bubbles of air from below and Taeyong peeked out of curiosity. But when another head popped out, Taeyong flinched away. But no longer surprised when he saw him. Beside Lucas, Kun shook his head to get rid of the wet hair sticking to his face. He watched as Kun rubbed his face before speaking, "That's not a nice way to greet the prince, Yangyang."

"Sorry," Yangyang mumbled from where he was floating on the left side of the boat. He picked the wood on the side with his nail. Elongated, Taeyong noticed.

"How is this possible? How are you guys alive?" Taeyong asked, leaning down to see them better. He turned to Kun and Kun smiled at him. Taeyong felt a sting in his heart. "But, the ship was-"

"Drowned, wrecked - I know. We were supposed to be _dead_ ," Kun stated the obvious. He sighed and laughed at how ridiculous he sounded. "But we're alive now."

"How?" Taeyong asked, voice cracking in the middle. "I saw you drowned."

The blurry memories of that day strolled around his mind. It felt like yesterday. The haunted history that made him wanted to hit his head numerous times just to forget them. He couldn't help but recalled the horror. Slowly, he reached to touch Kun's face. Palm against the wet skin. Kun smiled and leaned into the touch, placing his own hand above Taeyong's. Kun closed his eyes and sighed.

"I still remember that day, Taeyong. The agony I feel when the salt water starts filling my lungs. _It burnt_. Everything went dark after that. But when I woke up again, I saw blue. Blue everywhere.

"It was only then I noticed that it wasn't the sky - because I saw the one below me - it was the sea. And imagined how surprised i was when I saw this when I looked down!" Kun said, he grabbed onto the boat and lifted _something_ behind him.

"You legs. They turned into a tail!"

Kun glanced at his tail - mandarin, gleaming under the white light of the sun. The scales were visibly sparkling and at the end of the tail is a fin, similar to those of a fish. "Awesome right?"

"It's… beautiful." Taeyong leaned away from the boat, trying to get a closer look at the tail. Mesmerized. "Kun, your tail is beautiful. Kun, you're a _siren_!"

"Am I?" Kun teased, he let his tail fall back to the water. "Well, looks like I'm a siren now."

Taeyong turned to Lucas. "Are you…?"

Lucas laughed and nodded. "Yeah. Want to see?"

Taeyong nodded his head eagerly, fascinated. He used to read books about them. It was hard to believe that they existed outside of the books and stood - well, swam - in front of him. The books aren't lying. They're real. They're real! His eyes twinkled the same time Lucas' brought his tail up. It was gigantic. Metres long. The morphology is similar to a fish. Taeyong raked his eyes up and down Lucas' body. From his waist to the fin at the end of his tail. Taeyong saw the way the scales start to show up near the belly button, near the hipbone. And the scales grow in number into a full scaly tail.The grey was blinding in his eyes. But Taeyong couldn't let his eyes stray from it.

He was only broken out of his gaze when he felt something tugged on his clothes. He turned back.

"Hey, what about me? Won't you check out my tail too?" Yangyang had asked him, faking a sad face, looking for sympathy.

Taeyong swallowed hard. "Of course of course!"

In front of him, Yangyang grinned, showing rows of sharp teeth inside his mouth. Taeyong wasn't deterred at the sight. Merely leaned forward.

"But my tail is under the water." Yangyang lifted a hand - webbed and slimy - and held his wrist lightly. Yangyang hummed a little when he could sense the warmth of human skin under his grasp. But as the time passed, the grip on his wrist tightened, and Taeyong felt Yangyang sank down, still holding his wrist. It made Taeyong lean down even more dangerously close to the water.

"That's it. You could see it in the water. You have to swim deeper," Yangyang singsang. His words got blurred on Taeyong's ear when Yangyang had his mouth under the water.

" _I have to see it_ ," Taeyong said absentmindedly.

"Yangyang, no! Bad boy!" A voice startled him.

Yangyang flinched away and released his grip. He hissed at Kun before swimming away to the deep blue sea. Taeyong finally realized how close he was to the water and leaned back to the safety of his boat. His head was dizzy and he couldn't fathom what just happened.

Beside him, Kun clicked his tongue. "That kid is problematic."

Lucas giggled. "Problematic," he repeated.

"Are you alright? Let me see your hand," Kun asked, already grabbing his arm to check. Taeyong noticed the slight red mark on his skin from Yangyang's grip before. Kun sighed. "Kid just tried to eat you."

Taeyong pointed to himself. " _Eat me?_ "

"Yeah, he's a siren. What else did he do?"

Taeyong hugged himself. "God, that's so creepy. It's exactly like what I read in the book," Taeyong said. Not yet to notice how the men in front of him are literally the same species as Yangyang now.

Kun chuckled. "Well, never underestimate fairy tales then."

At the mention of fairy tales, Taeyong remembered another character from the fairy tales. The dragon. The grumpy dragon that lived alone on an island for several centuries. The kind dragon that helped the stranded sailor to get back to their home.

He remembered Doyoung.

Taeyong threw a glance at the island. Faint in the distance. But the memories of it were as clear as a day. And his sadness bled out the same time the wound on his leg opened again. He hissed when the salt water got into his ankle.

Kun frowned when he saw his expression. "What happened to your ankle?"

"A snake bit me." Taeyong showed Kun the wound on his ankle.

"What _kind_ of snake bit you, Taeyong? Big boa?"

Taeyong huffed a laugh and winced. "It's actually bigger, but you know it."

"Wait a minute, let me call Ten," Kun said before swimming away. Down to the sea. Taeyong wondered how deep Kun swam. Was it as deep as to when they drowned that day? Did Kun still feel the burn from the salt water filling up his lung? Did they grieve for their own death? Taeyong shook his head, trying his best to dismiss the pain sparking on his ankle.

"Please be patient, Your Majesty. Ten will be here soon. And he would be able to heal you."

"Ten is alive?"

Lucas grinned wide. "Everyone is."

"Everyone is _alive_?" Taeyong exclaimed.

"Yeah."

At the confirmation, Taeyong felt his eyes water again. He sniffed and brought his hands up to cover his face. He laughed but it turned into an ugly crying after a while. All the while Lucas staring at him.

"What's wrong?"

Taeyong huffed a laugh again. "It's just - I'm so glad you're all alive. I thought you were dead, for god sake! So this is what Doyoung meant by _'the sea taking those she loved to be with her forever'_!" Taeyong wailed like a baby again and Lucas put a comforting hand on his back. Patting it a little with his wet hands. Webbed fingers splayed on the small of his back.

"I thought that you guys were dead and I was the only survivor. I kept blaming myself on what happened that day, that I forced Kun to sail through the cursed shortcut. And Xiaojun! I have betrayed his trust-"

"There, there. It's alright now. Everything's fine. We may have turned into somewhat a strange creature, but at least we're alive. I, too, am glad that you're alive."

Taeyong buried his face in his hands, with Lucas petting his head like a child. There was a sound of water splashing and then came a familiar voice. "Why is he crying? Is the wound that severe?"

Taeyong looked up. He blinked. "Ten?"

"Yes?"

"Ten!" Taeyong surged forward to hug him. It punched a breath out of Ten. "Ten, you're alive!"

"Yes and let go of me. Didn't you tell me that a snake bit your ankle?"

"Yes. But I'm alright now. I have you guys here, " Taeyong mumbled against Ten bare shoulder. His skin was a bit slimy, and slippery to hold. A form of adaptation to the nature of the sea. Ten oddly emitted warmth that brought comfort to him. Or maybe it was his happiness warming his heart. But who cares? He got to hug a precious friend of his.

Ten chuckled. "Stop being so dramatic. Let me see your ankle."

Taeyong reluctantly let go and leaned backward so that Ten could check on his foot. His hand felt ticklish on his foot and Taeyong squirmed around. He earned a slap on his calf.

"Stop moving. I can't see - and oh, yeah he's fine," Ten said, throwing his foot aside.

"That's it?" Kun asked.

Ten hummed. "Of course. I live underwater, Kun. What medicine could I possibly give to him? It'll heal on its own."

"Make sense."

"I always do."

Kun mumbled something afterward that made Ten want to strangle him. And Lucas watched with mirth dancing in his eyes. He knew better than to disturb their conversation.Taeyong smiled at them. The reunion felt real. The sight in front of him looked real. Taeyong hoped it wasn't just a figment of his imagination. Hallucination from the lack of sanity he has.

"I love you," he whispered.

The three of them turned their heads to him. And suddenly Taeyong was aware of their stares. He quickly faced another direction. Flustered.

"Which?" Ten asked.

"I - It was meant for all of you," Taeyong stammered, coughing into his hand.

Kun and Ten shared a look and the same grin.

"Winwin too. Xiaojun too. Hendery too," Taeyong said, picking his nail. "And Yangyang."

"He tried to eat you before."

" _Yes_ but other than that, he's kind."

"Doesn't make sense but I get it. Also, Xiaojun hates you now, he's still sulking. But don't worry it won't last long."

Taeyong gave a sad smile, still feeling guilty about it. But he realized that he didn't have time to be sad right now. He got a more important thing to do. And he had to bid goodbye to Kun.

Taeyong didn't expect them to follow him.

"Your quest is to save the princess, Your Majesty. But our quest is to take you there safely," Kun said, bowing to him.

But now without his expensive clothes and crown and anything that could indicate his status, Taeyong was a mere human. Another poor human stuck in the middle of the sea. He deserved nothing near this loyalty.

"Yes, it'd be an honour to guide you to the island."

Beside Lucas, Ten laughed. "Can't believe you got stranded on the wrong island."

" _Be quiet Ten_ \- It'd be an honour, Prince Lee Taeyong of Neo Kingdom," Kun said again.

Taeyong was surprised to say the least. But still - looking to the island far away in front of him and imagining what danger could lie in the sea between - he nodded. He licked his chapped lips. "Lead the way, Captain."

With that, there went the captain and his crew, swimming near the boat, guiding Taeyong to the island. Lucas - as always - is good with direction. He swam in front of the boat. His silver scales that glimmer when the sunlight hit it acted as a sign of where Taeyong should paddle. They made it, Taeyong thought. They made it as a crew once again.

The island was eerily identical to the one he knows. Except that this island seemed more gloomy, foggy, and mysterious. The kind to have the wild and vicious dragon. But Taeyong straightened his back, like the prince he is.

Behind him, Lucas cheered, "Go Taeyong! You can do it!" The voice strangely echoed in the foggy beach. Taeyong glanced back to give Lucas a small smile. His nervousness was visible in the crease of his eyebrows. Taeyong swallowed once. "Alright, here we go," Taeyong whispered to himself. He tightened the hold on the spear and moved forward. His hands parted the bushes barricading the forest and the beach and he walked to the dragon's nest.

Taeyong had his awareness towards his surroundings at the maximum level. His ears were sensitive to the smallest sound and the movement of the insects around him. It was impossible for him not to hear the sound coming out of behind the trees in front of him. The dragon was near, he noted. He slowed down his steps and peeked through the leaves. There, sleeping in the middle of a clearing was the dragon. The dragon had his head rested on the top of his folded front legs and his wings were folded gracefully near his shoulder. Magenta scales absorbed the light, no glimmer to be found. The regularity of the movement of the chest told him that the dragon was still sound asleep. Yet to notice his presence.

It was indeed the dragon, but 'where was the princess? Where did the dragon lock the princess?' Those were the questions that flashed inside his mind at the speed of a light.

But at the speed of the light too, it was answered by the next scene. The dragon shifted in his sleep and raised his folded wings to reveal a small thing beside it. The princess!

The princess had his eyes closed. But Taeyong knew that she wasn't sleeping. Her hands were still moving, stroking the rough and thick skin of the dragon's side. Petting the dragon. She hummed a few melodies, lulling the dragon into sleep.

Taeyong was mesmerized by the sight. He was unaware of how close he was leaning to the front until he stumbled forward and accidentally stepped on a twig. Taeyong flitted his eyes to his feet and then to the dragon. The princess had heard him. She called out to him, "Who's there?"

But before she could wake the dragon up by asking again, Taeyong stepped out of his hiding and put a finger on his lips. Quietly telling her to be quiet or she'll wake the dragon up.

Princess Yeri stared at him for a moment before she scoffed. Gently, she tapped against the dragon's side. "Oi Johnny wake up. We have a visitor, I think?"

The dragon blinked his eyes open. Instantly, those big slanted eyes were on him. Staring intimidatingly. The dragon glanced at Yeri on the side before standing up on its feet. Now fully standing in its glory. Taeyong noticed how much bigger the dragon is. Far more bigger than Doyoung. Taeyong swallowed hard. "I'm here for Princess Yeri!"

"For me?" Yeri asked, pointing to herself. She looked shocked. Clearly didn't know how much effort her kingdom put in the attempt to save her. "Really?"

"Yes," Taeyong said, "your father asked me to."

"Oh. But," Yeri paused, looking up to the dragon. The dragon seemed to notice and leaned down his head. "What about him?"

"You have to think about your kingdom, Yeri. They need you the most right now," Taeyong tried to persuade. His eyes occasionally flitted to the dragon, gauging his expression. For safety purposes. For a second he saw a dragon and then the next second he saw a human. Man. 

The man moved forward, approaching Taeyong. Much like his dragon form, the man also towered over Taeyong in his human form. Taeyong struggled not to look small by tipping his toes.

"Who sent you?" the man asked.

Taeyong tightened his grip on his spear, pointing it not so obviously to the dragon. The dragon noticed the spear and Taeyong swore he could see the amusement dancing in his eyes. "I'm Prince Lee Taeyong of Neo Kingdom. Your father told my father to told me that-"

Princess Yeri giggled.

Taeyong stared at her weirdly before continuing. "I was sent to save you from this island." 

The dragon - Johnny - hummed, a sound of understandig vibrate deeply. "You're not the only one who tried to take her, kid. Some people didn't really want to take her back to her home - some just wanted the ransom from her kingdom - and I had to make sure that you aren't like them," the dragon explained. He crossed his arm and sighed.

"Ah! Doyoung told me to mention his name."

"Doyoung?" the dragon asked, frowning. He looked like he recognized that name and Taeyong cheered up a little. He nodded eagerly.

"Yes, Doyoung. Kim Doyoung. From the island beside-"

The dragon suddenly laughed out loud, startling Taeyong but not Yeri beside him. Yeri threw him a look of pity because it was what she had experienced for as long as she had lived here.

"Didn't think Doyoung would ever claim a human as a possession!"

" _Huh?_ "

Johnny quickly covered his hand and gasped. Before Taeyong could ask again, he played it off by speaking. "So what about his name? Did he tell you this : 'mention my name to johnny and you'll get a free pass'?" Johnny asked, mocking Doyoung's face and voice.

Taeyong furrowed his eyebrows at the similarity. "...yes?"

Johnny laughed again, throwing his head back. When he stopped laughing, he stopped at once. No giggling left and went straight back to his usual blank face, intimidating. "Well, you're absolutely right. Alright. Pack it up, princess. You're going back home. This person is approved by Doyoung. And he looks trustworthy!"

Yeri cheered, jumped, and hugged Johnny. "Sweet! Can't wait to go back."

Johnny patted her head, smiling sweetly at her. "Yeah."

Taeyong stared at the scene in front of him. Somehow, it felt familiar. Reminded him of himself. And Taeyong found himself looking away from the sight too soon.

Taeyong cleared his throat. "Princess Yeri? Let's go. Our fathers are waiting for us."

"Mhm. I like women," Yeri blurted out. Unprovoked.

"Pardon me?" Taeyong asked, afraid he heard it wrong. He leaned forward.

"I like women. Just to let you know that I won't marry you."

"Oh thank God."

Yeri arched her brow. "Is that supposed to be a good thing?"

"Very. Happy for you." Taeyong smiled and took her to the boat.

The quest turns out to be easier than what Taeyong had imagined. Unlike the stories that people told him, dragons are nice. Johnny and Doyoung proved to be so.

Taeyong glanced back at Doyoung's island as he paddled away. He sighed deeply.

"What are you thinking about?" Yeri asked, noticing something. She had his arms crossed in front of her chest and she sat in a way the kingdom would scold. Guess it was the effect of being stranded on an island for years.

Taeyong shook his head, dejectedly. "Nothing."

"Do you miss your friend?"

Taeyong looked up at that. "Huh?"

"I saw you had befriended the dragon from another island. Are you sad that you're leaving them?" Yeri asked again. She shifted on her seat and turned his head to Johnny. The dragon is big, and Johnny was visible from a distance. He had transformed into a dragon solely to keep an eye of Yeri. In case something bad happens, it'll be easier for him to just fly and save her.

Taeyong wished he could see Doyoung. But still, the island looked empty. Much like when he first saw the island.

"I am."

"Me too. Johnny is like a brother to me. I'll mss him - no, I already miss him."

Taeyong chuckled. "But I don't think he will miss me," Taeyog said, hardening his jaw and paddle away. The sail had been set, but the wind was nowhere to be found. And Taeyong had to paddle to move the boat. The weather, it worried him.

"Why not?" Yeri asked.

"I betrayed his trust."

Yeri paused at that. Staring at Taeyong's face. She whistled. "That's… _low_."

"I know," Taeyong said, running a hand through his dishevelled hair, clearly frustrated. "A true friend will accept you as you are. But I was a coward back then. I was blinded by my fear of him. He must've thought that I see him as a monster. I used to tell him the kind of dragons we hear in fairy tales, the villain. But I was wrong about it and didn't want him to feel that way.

"I made him feel like he was the bad guy and that I hate him, when the truth is, I-" Taeyong paused. His eyes widened and his gaze went from the blank sea to Yeri's face, gauging her expression.

Yeri had a smug smile. Giggling. "You _love_ him!"

Taeyong gasped at the statement and shook his head wildly. "No."

"Yes you do!" Yeri elbowed him. Teasing. But then her smile faded into a frown. "But, you're not going to see him again, after this."

Taeyong looked down to his lap. The spear on his lap was prominent, reminding him of Doyoung and his kindness. "I guess that's life."

Beside him, Yeri sighed. Sad for him. "I guess that's life," Yeri repeated. For she too, was familiar with the longing. They stared at the island - the different one each.

The sail had been smooth, Taeyong concluded. The water seemed to be calm and friendly. Kun and his friends had been very kind to them by guiding the boat. But when the boat stepped into the open ocean, Kun had left. Claiming about how he could only guide him this far. He'll be on his own from then. Taeyong was alright with that. Kun had helped a lot. He couldn't dare himself to ask for more. And he handled it perfectly so far.

Though Taeyong noticed he couldn't find a fish near the surface. The supplies had been thinning for the past few days. He had to starve himself in order for Yeri to eat. He bit his lips again, ripping off the chapped skin. This was familiar. Way too familiar. The calm before the storm, in literal meaning. But Taeyong didn't want to be right. He stopped thinking about it - the overall worry weighing his mind.

But much like any other thing, Taeyong tends to be wrong. Just like when he noticed the dark clouds foaming in the sky in front of him. The growth rate of the cloud was alarming, heading towards them.

Taeyong stood up. He used his hand to shield his eyes from the sun to see better. "I think there's a storm ahead."

"What should we do?" Yeri asked, full of worry.

Taeyong visibly panicked. Inside his head was a phrase : It was familiar. _Too familiar_. It echoed.

Taeyong woke with the chattering of his own teeth. It was cold. This time, there was no boat that could shield him from the water. Taeyong could only float helplessly on a piece of wood. A remnant of the boat he built with Doyoung. He felt the weakest in his life. Tired. He couldn't even open his eyes properly.

Eyes half-lidded, he looked around searching for Yeri. "Yeri," he croaked out. "Yeri, Yeri, where are you?" Her safety was his priority, and yet, Taeyong failed again. He cried into the wood, resting his head on it. Delirious, he looked around again. The storm had destroyed the boat, but maybe, just maybe Yeri had survived like him and was floating on a piece of wood just like him.

He could only hope for the best.

Taeyong used his weak hands to paddle. To where, he, too, didn't know. All that he could think about was to find Yeri in the middle of the endless blue around him.

"Yeri, Yeri, Yeri," he mumbled.

He was hysteric until he could finally see a familiar yellow floating far away from him. Yeri's dress.

Taeyong rubbed his eyes once, and then twice. Just to get rid of his hallucination - if it turns out to be his imagination. But the yellow didn't disappear like he expected to be. Simply floating on the sea, swayed slowly by the sea. Faintly, Taeyong could see the piece of wood, under the yellow. The piece of wood that helped her floating.Taeyong let out a long sigh of relief.

He rested his head on the wood again, tired. Really tired. He had used all of his strength earlier to fight the storm and still lost at the end. For he is a mere human. Powerless in front of the sea itself.He didn't know he had passed out when he woke up again. He heard a noise coming from a far.

He lifted his head. When he looked in the direction of Yeri again, there was another thing there. A ship! The ship let out a whistle that hurt his ears. But it sounded like music to his ear, no matter how noisy it was. 

_Finally_ , a ship! Yeri will be saved then.

Just as to what Taeyong had expected, the ship threw out a ladder and a rope. One man got down through the ladder. But Taeyong wasn't quite sure. The distance tends to blur out his vision. Only the silhouette was visible. But when the man came back to the boat with Yeri in his arms, Taeyong sagged in relief. "Yeri, you made it," he whispered to the fading ship as it went away in the opposite direction, further from him. Taeyong let out a breathy laugh. But it turned wet when he realized he cried. He wiped his tears and sniffed again.

"Ah," he exhaled, letting out a breathy laugh in the process, "my quest is done. I made it," he spoke to himself. His grip tightened against the wood piece. Steadying himself. The wave sent a reassuring hug and somehow Taeyong could feel the warmth of it.

"I made it father, mother. I saved her, Doyoung."

Taeyong stared at the setting sun. He hoped to see the stars, but stars came out at night. And Taeyong didn't think he'd be awake by then. He was too tired.

"I'm tired, Doyoung," he spoke to the sea. Hoping it would relay the message to Doyoung. "Maybe I should give myself a hug." 

Gently, Taeyong let go of the wood piece he had been clinging on to. Right hand, then the left hand. By the time he let go of it, the wood floated away and the water was at his chin level. He gasped for breath. His hands were busy trying to keep him on the surface. But when he finally put his arms around himself, Taeyong closed his eyes and let the warmth of the sea enveloped his fragile body. He had missed this so much.

Doyoung was his last thought. And that way, Taeyong thought it wasn't so bad.

Doyoung stopped coming to the beach after a month.

He knew it was impossible for Taeyong to come back. Surely he had arrived at his kingdom! Or maybe not, the kingdom is far away from here. By now, he must be still on his way to his kingdom. There was no way he'd turn to this cursed island again.

Doyoung stared longingly at the sea and sighed dejectedly. Beside him, Yuta scoffed. "Don't you have something else to do?"

"Do what?" Doyoung said, walking back to his nest. The snake followed close behind him. The hiss he let out every moment and then made his head ache with longing to punch Yuta's face for no reason. But Doyoung didn't, only balled his hands into fists to control himself.

"I don't know. Maybe catch a fish for me or something as in apologizing for attacking me out of nowhere!" Yuta yelled into his ear.

Doyoung clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Leave me alone, Yuta. I'm not in the mood to play your games."

Yuta gasped, feeling victimized. "Really, I couldn't understand what is wrong with you nowadays."

"Then perish. I don't need you to understand me," Doyoung said, giving Yuta the cold shoulder.

He watched as the snake slithered away with his head hung low. Sad. A part of him knew it was just Yuta being his dramatic self. But another part of him felt like a jerk for treating his 'friend' like that. Yuta has been here the longest with him and yet Doyoung never once was good to him. Doyoung kicked the ground and stomped his feet on it. Mad at himself. He grunted and reluctantly went back to the beach. Searching for fish. His steps were exaggerated, letting Yuta know how reluctant he was. But still he went to the beach.

"Ugh," he groaned when his bare feet touched the wet sand. He hated the feeling of wet sand seeping into your nail. It was dirty.

Doyoung turned one of his hands into a claw and moved closer to the sea.

The water had reached his knee when he noticed something in the distance. He narrowed his eyes, trying to see clearer. "Huh?" he mumbled, seeing something glowed amongst the dark surface of the water. He walked further into the sea. Ignoring how heavy his steps had become, the water resisting him. But then the gleam disappeared. And Doyoung was disappointed. Like many dragons, Doyoung is fond of treasures and sparkly things. He collected those washed up treasures and treated them like his collection.

And to notice the disappearance of his potential treasure, Doyoung frowned. He shrugged, "Guess, it's just the sunlight."

But then, when Doyoung was about to go back to the shallower part of the sea, he heard water splashing behind him. Again, he turned back. Faintly, he could see a tail. A _big_ tail. It must be at least two metres long. Doyoung leaned forward to get a better look, interested. He put a hand over his eyes to see better without the unlight trying to blind him at any given moment. Yuta would love that big fish.

Slowly, as to not scare the fish, Doyoung moved closer. His claw was ready by his side, itching to get the fish in between. He was ready to catch the fish when suddenly he saw a mop of hair on the surface.

Doyoung shrieked and stumbled backward, scared of the hairy fish. But the fish kept moving closer, while still keeping the hair above the surface.

Doyoung was about to scream again when he saw something peculiar. The hair resurfaced and Doyoung could see the owner of the hair. And it was no fish.

The head peeking out of the surface smiled gently at him. Familiar.

Doyoung felt his jaw open. It trembled just to say a familiar name. "Taeyong?"

The fish cheered, "Surprise!"

"How?" Doyoung whispered to himself. He pushed his elbow to stand up, all while still staring at the creature in front of him. Eyeing him warily. "What happened to you? What are those?"

Taeyong gently smiled and shook his head. He swam closer to Doyoung, taking him to the sea. Doyoung let Taeyong guide him with his hand on his wrists. Holding Doyoung close so as to not drown even when Doyoung himself knows how to swim. Here in the water, close to Taeyong, Doyoung could finally see his face. Clear. Not blurred like his own memory of him. Taeyong is real, right in front of him. He stared at Taeyong's glassy eyes, he was sure that his eyes mimicked those of Taeyong.

"You came back. But," Doyoung whispered, but it was heard. Their proximity made it easier. He caressed Taeyong's face and Taeyogn leaned his head to his hand, feeling the warmth of his palm. 

Taeyong closed his eyes and sighed, shoulder relaxed. "But?"

"What happened to you?"

Taeyong opened his eyes and it was a different shade of colour than to when he was still a human. It was jade green. Ethereal, just like Taeyong himself. "The sea took me in her arms."

"So, you died," Doyoung said, frowning. He was sad for what happened to Taeyong. But Taeyong quickly straightened the crease of his brows with his gentle hand.

"I died," Taeyong squeezed his hand, looking down on their tangled fingers. "But I'm alive now. and I came back to you."

Doyoung clenched his trembling jaw and buried his face on Taeyong's shoulder. Holding him near. And never letting go, afraid that once he let go this dream of his would end. He sobbed on Taeyong's bare shoulder and Taeyong let him. Humming melodies he learnt from Yeri and stroked Doyoung's back. The sea never felt as warm as this moment. 

"I love you," Doyoung had whispered first. Beating Taeyong.

Taeyong stopped his hand. Truthfully, he wasn't that surprised. He only let out a breathy laugh, the one Doyoung cherished the most. "I'm glad."

"Fool! You're supposed to say I love you back!" Doyoung said, pulling away from the hug to look at Taeyong's smug face. He punched his chest and Taeyong coughed a little.

" _God_ , was it necessary?"

"For you? Anytime. Now say I love you back," Doyoung said. But the uncertainty in his voice made his nervousness audible. His hand shook a little on Taeyong's shoulder. Taeyong put his cold palm on it.

"Well, Kim Doyoung," Taeyong said, voice gentle but sure, "I love you too," Taeyong leaned forward and placed a kiss on Doyoung's cheek. The soft feeling lasted only a second and yet it made something burn inside his heart.

Literally burning.

Taeyong pointed to his glowing cheeks. "Are you alright? Your cheeks seemed to be glowing."

"Yeah, it's just the fire," Doyoung said, lifting a hand to touch his own burning cheeks. He patted his glowing cheeks, trying to tame the fire inside.

Taeyong stared at the glow for a moment before a realization dawned on him. He poked Doyoung's soft cheek. "You're blushing!"

"No, I'm not. It's the way my body adapts to the cold environment of the sea. And as you can see and feel right now-"

Taeyong kissed his other cheeks. "There. To warm you up."

Doyoung was dumbfounded, mouth agape. He looked stupid in front of the person he loves. His front teeth peeking out. He looked cute this way. When the canine and the rest of rows of sharp teeth weren't visible.The only thing visible was the spark on Doyoung's cheek grew stronger. His cheek now bright red. Taeyong laughed at that. He looped his hands around Doyoung's neck. Eyes staring at Doyoung's lips.

"Want to break the curse?"

"No. But I would like a kiss," Doyoung said, cradling Taeyong's face in his hand, "Please."

"God, Doyoung, I love you so much," Taeyong breathed out, pressing his lips to Doyoung. Doyoung stilled for a moment, new to the thing. But with Taeyong's gentle hand on his face, Doyoung pressed back.

It was a peck at first. And then pecks, and then a kiss Taeuong deepened with his dainty hands crawling to Doyoung's nape, holding him dear.

"Me too," Doyoung said, voice never above a whisper.

And Taeyong giggled at his attempt. But it was alright. Doyoung could learn. They still had forever to spend together after all.

The days would be spend on the beach. Playing with each other, soaking up the sunbeam until it became too much. But it's alright, the sea is always there to refresh them.

At night, when the sun finally goes down, Taeyong would dry his tail and walk to the land, where Doyoung awaits him, hands extended to welcome him in a hug. Every night, they would silently grazing each other's knuckle and whisper words of love into each other's ear.

They had put the stars into shame. For the stars were no longer useful. No need to wish upon the star. Nor stare longingly at the moon. She's lovely. But unlike her, they are the only one beside each other.

Centuries would past before they finally had the courage to venture the world together. Hand in hand.

So, be mindful of your surroundings. Pay attention to every stranger you meet. Did you see the way their eyes glow slightly different from the other, love visible in the way they look at each other? Or the way their nails and teeth are sharper than the other? Did you see their sparkling skin? Or their joined hand?

If so, then you have met them.

In the end, let's just say legends do live forever, and so do fairy tales. Oh, and also love does too.


	5. Epilogue

"That was," Donghyuck said, he stared blankly at the wall. "Tragic I guess."

"No it's not! They got their happy ending and that's all that matters," Mr. Lee said. He sighed and closed the book. The emboss patterns on the hard cover were entertaining to his fingertips.

"Still tragic."

Slowly his finger traced the name written in gold, the author. _Kim Doyoung_.

Mr. Lee beamed and looked up to the window. The sun has yet to reach its peak, but it still casted a light through the tinted window.

"I like this story," Donghyuck said.

"Yeah?" Mr. Lee asked, amused. He smiled and patted Donghyuck's head. Looking back to the sun, he said, "Me too."

Donghyuck looked up to the window as well, staring at the light blue sky. But he was distracted by another thing. There he could see the sapphire glimmer on Mr. Lee's skin, patterned, quite like scales that sparkled when the sunlight kissed his beautiful face. 

" _Whoah_."

**Author's Note:**

> This year may not be the best, but I hope this fic could at least entertain you a little. Sending hugs and kisses along with this fic!
> 
> PS: i'm sorry if this fic seemed incoherent. i wrote this five days before the deadline. also, unbetaed :D


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